Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
Berichten van 1 november 2022 tot 30 november 2022
NASA has released a breathtaking video of Earth taken from the Orion capsule as it lifted off this morning in the Artemis I mission.
The uncrewed spacecraft began its 25-day mission around the moon at 2.00am EST (7:00am GMT) today onboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Space fans lined the beaches and roads outside the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the historic launch of the $4 billion (£3.5 billion) mission.
The 24-second clip shows the outline of our planet slowly shrinking away in the distance as the rocket accelerated to 12,000 mph (19,000 kph).
The official Twitter account for Artemis wrote: 'As @NASA_Orion begins the #Artemis I mission to the Moon, the spacecraft captured these stunning views of our home planet.'
Artemis I is designed to show that the SLS and Orion capsule are ready to carry astronauts to the moon in subsequent Artemis II and Artemis III missions.
Orion spacecraft shows us our home while on the way to the moon
The 24-second clip shows the outline of our planet slowly shrinking away in the distance as the rocket accelerated to 12,000 mph (19,000 kph)
Artemis I was successfully launched just before 2.00am EST this morning on a 25-day mission around the moon
This Artemis 1 mission will see the Orion capsule circle the moon and return to our planet after a 1.3 miIlion-mile voyage.
It signals the first stage of the US space agency's goal to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.
If successful, the mission will be followed by a crewed trip around the moon in 2024, while a further mission in 2025 hopes to see human boots grace the lunar surface.
This would be the first time people have walked on the moon since 1972, and could include the first woman and first person of colour to do so.
NASA's ultimate plan is to build a permanent lunar outpost with a view to exploring deeper into the cosmos.
Social media users have been responding in awe to the video taken from the Orion capsule during lift-off, which has been described as 'absolutely beautiful'.
However, others have been tagging the Flat Earth Society in response to it, keen to hear its members' explanations to the view of our planet's curved outline.
Twitter user @Td91345887 brands the clip as 'fake' and that Earth 'got a graphics change'.
Social media users have been responding in awe to the video taken from the Orion capsule during lift-off, which has been described as 'absolutely beautiful'. However, others have been tagging the Flat Earth Society in response to it, keen to hear its members' explanations to the view of our planet's curved outline
Artemis is a historic launch that signals the first stage of NASA's goal to return people to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century
The plan is to return humans to the moon on Artemis III by 2025 and ultimately to build a permanent lunar outpost with a view to exploring deeper into the cosmos
Space fans lined the beaches and roads outside the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the historic launch of the $4 billion (£3.5 billion) mission
WHAT IS ONBOARD ARTEMIS I?
This mission has no humans on board but a trio of human-sized test dummies stand in for the crew in the Orion capsule, their bodies swarming with sensors to measure radiation and vibration.
NASA has also revealed an Official Flight Kit list of items it sent on Artemis I, including 245 silver Snoopy pins, 567 American flags, a Dead Sea pebble and a cuddly version of cartoon dog Snoopy.
Soft toys actually serve a useful function on space missions, floating around as a 'zero-gravity indicator' to show when the spacecraft interior has reached the weightlessness of microgravity.
A small piece of moon rock from the Apollo 11 mission also joined the ride, along with a patch and a bolt from Neil Armstrong's iconic mission, to help connect the Apollo legacy to the Artemis program.
Artemis I even carries a variety of tree and plant seeds, too, as part of tests to study how they are affected by space radiation.
Cultivating plants in space is regarded as a critical factor in allowing humans to thrive during longer space missions, providing not only food but oxygen.
This morning's Artemis launch did not go without a hitch as, in the final few hours before lift-off, engineers was sent to the launch pad to tighten some bolts and stop a fuel leak.
However, at 01:47 EST (06:47 GMT), the rocket's four main R-25 engines and two boosters pushed the 32-storey rocket into the sky with 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
'We rise together, back to the moon and beyond,' said NASA's official commentator as the rocket took off.
About ten minutes later, the engines of the SLS rocket powered off and the core stage separated, as Artemis entered the Earth's orbit.
Then, at 03:42 (08:42 GMT), NASA announced that the Orion capsule - now flying solo - had completed its 20-minute 'trans-lunar injection manoeuvre'.
This accelerated it to more than 22,600 mph (36,370 kph) and propelled it towards the moon.
Artemis' launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told her cheering colleagues: 'You are part of a first – it doesn't come along very often, once in a career, maybe.
'We are all part of something incredibly special: the first launch of Artemis. The first step in returning our country to the moon and on to Mars. What you have done today will inspire generations to come.'
Ms Blackwell-Thompson added in a statement: 'On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation who have worked to bring this hardware together to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you.'
The mega-rocket has faced numerous delays up to now, with its maiden launch date repeatedly pushed back since August.
Its first attempt was scrubbed after controllers struggled to get an engine cooled down to its correct operating temperature.
A second attempt at the start of September was then hampered by a fuel leak, before Storm Ian pushed it back to October at the end of that month.
The launch date was then changed again to November 14, before settling on November 16.
There were concerns that this launch date could slip again pending post-storm inspections, after the SLS was battered by gusts of up to 100mph while exposed to the might of Hurricane Nicole last week.
The 322ft (98m) rocket suffered damage after officials chose to leave it on the launch pad rather than wheel it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
The storm caused a tear in the engine rain covers and water to enter the crew access arm, but NASA said that these were 'minor' problems and did not delay launch.
Artemis sees an Orion spacecraft circle the Earth's natural satellite and return to our planet after a 1.3 miIlion-mile voyage
The journey takes a few days and Orion will get as close as 60 miles (100km) from the lunar surface before firing its thrusters to move into orbit up to 40,000 miles (64,000km) away
Ten shoebox-size secondary payloads, called CubeSats, are hitching a ride to space on Artemis I, while several other investigations are flying inside the Orion spacecraft (pictured) during the flight test
Named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, Artemis signifies the modern incarnation of NASA's Apollo programme, which sent astronauts to the moon for the first time.
Its four RS-25 engines can power the rocket to speeds of up to 24,500 mph and propel it out of low-Earth orbit to the moon some 240,000 miles away.
The journey takes a few days and Orion will get as close as 60 miles (100km) from the lunar surface before firing its thrusters to move into orbit up to 40,000 miles (64,000km) away.
Ten shoebox-size secondary payloads, called CubeSats, are hitching a ride to space on Artemis I, while several other investigations are flying inside the Orion spacecraft during the flight test.
Each of the payloads will perform science and technology experiments in deep space, expanding our understanding of lunar science, technology developments, and deep space radiation.
During re-entry, Orion will emerge into the Earth's atmosphere at 25,000mph before splashing down off the California coast.
NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the moon in 2025 as part of the Artemis mission
Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the moon in Greek mythology.
NASA has chosen her to personify its path back to the moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2025 - including the first woman and the next man.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars.
Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed flight that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond.
During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.
It will travel 280,000 miles (450,600 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the moon over the course of about a three-week mission.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration to the moon and Mars. This graphic explains the various stages of the mission
Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.
With this first exploration mission, NASA is leading the next steps of human exploration into deep space where astronauts will build and begin testing the systems near the moon needed for lunar surface missions and exploration to other destinations farther from Earth, including Mars.
The will take crew on a different trajectory and test Orion’s critical systems with humans aboard.
Together, Orion, SLS and the ground systems at Kennedy will be able to meet the most challenging crew and cargo mission needs in deep space.
Eventually NASA seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon by 2028 as a result of the Artemis mission.
The space agency hopes this colony will uncover new scientific discoveries, demonstrate new technological advancements and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.
Was the Betty and Barney Hill Incident a Top Secret Mind-Control Test? MK-Ultra?
Nick Redfern
Ready to see one of the most famous alleged alien abduction incidents questioned? It’s coming, anyway. It’s that of Betty and Barney Hill. They were a husband and wife who, on the night of September 19, 1961, and while driving home from Canada to New Hampshire after completing a fun vacation, had a significant number of hours erased from their minds. It all happened near Indian Head, New Hampshire. It was there they saw a strange light in the sky that appeared to be carefully shadowing them from above. Concern and anxiety set in, which is no surprise. Finally, they made it home. Something very strange and disturbing happened to the Hills, but such was the state of their minds, they weren’t sure what it was. But, they certainly wanted to know. In the days and weeks that followed, the Hills began to experience terrifying, never-jangling nightmares: there were memories of having been taken on-board a UFO, and of having been subjected to intrusive and stressful medical-based experiments. Betty recalled that the aliens inserted a needle into her navel. Sperm was removed from Barney, via what was termed as “a suction device.” The “alien abduction” phenomenon was up and running, and the issue of “missing time” was well and truly born. The fascination that the Hill’s experience generated – partly due to Betty and Barney’s decision to speak openly at UFO events – ultimately led to the publication in 1966 of The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours “Aboard a Flying Saucer.” It was written by a respected journalist and author, John Fuller.
The story of Betty and Barney – and of their pet dog, Delsey, too, who was also in the car at the time of the incident - still provokes interest and intrigue to this very day. It is to alien abductions what Roswell is to tales of crashed UFOs: a key case in the history of Ufology. What if, however, aliens did not abduct Betty and Barney? What if – just like those who were present in Rendlesham Forest in 1980 – the pair were led to believe they had undergone something that had extraterrestrial origins, when things were actually much different? One of those who came to believe that the Hills had been subjected to an MK-ULTRA-type encounter was the late Philip Coppens. He said: “It is clear that the Hills were being monitored by USAF [U.S. Air Force] Intelligence before the encounter took place, through Major James MacDonald, who had befriended them some time earlier. Betty Hill wrote to [UFO researcher / author] Donald Keyhoe who, despite the fact that he received over a hundred letters a day, homed in on this initially unremarkable case. Within twenty-four hours, Keyhoe had arranged for the Hills to be visited by top-level scientists, including C.D. Jackson, who had previously (definitely not coincidentally) worked on psychological warfare techniques for President Eisenhower [italics mine]. Stretching coincidence far beyond breaking point, Jackson already knew Major MacDonald, with whom he next interviewed the Hills.”
(Nick Redfern) How to manipulate minds in the name of UFOs: drugs and hazmats
Philip continued on: “It seems that Betty and Barney Hill were at the center of a web that involved USAF Intelligence and top military experts in psychological warfare. The evidence suggests that the Hills were the subjects – victims – of a psychological experiment [italics mine].” Those who believe that the Betty and Barney Hill experience was a genuine alien abduction case might very well balk at the words of Coppens. That’s not a wise approach to take, though. You’ll soon come to see why. Sadly, Coppens was unable to continue his work on the case for long on this topic. In 2012, he was quickly taken by a very rare form of cancer at the age of just forty-one: Angiosarcoma. On average, it kills slightly less than two hundred people in the United States per year. Philip Coppens is gone, but the threads of his research have allowed us to take his investigations further into the associations between UFOs and mind-manipulation. In a roundabout way, the story of Betty and Barney Hill has a link to the events that occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit on August 15, 1951. And also to MK-ULTRA. That’s a jaw-dropping claim for someone to make; it is, however, absolutely true. I noted that John Fuller, in 1966, wrote a full-length book on the experiences of Betty and Barney Hill: The Interrupted Journey. Philip Coppens concluded that those same experiences were linked to early mind-control programs of the U.S. government.
As for Fuller, he was an intriguing character. When he died in 1990, at the age of seventy-six, the New York Times ran an obituary on him. It was written by a Times journalist, Edwin McDowell, who stated that Fuller was occasionally "...criticized by reviewers for not using footnotes in his books and for what they judged was the implausibility of his topics. But as Jeff Greenfield wrote in The New York Times Book Review in reviewing ‘The Poison That Fell From the Sky,’ Mr. Fuller ‘keeps raising the most unsettling of questions.’ Moreover, even before passage of the Freedom of Information Act, he had a facility for somehow obtaining Government documents [italics mine], which he incorporated in some of his books.” The fact that Fuller had a strange knack for getting his hands on official papers prior to FOIA legislation was passed, suggests strongly that he moved in intriguing places and with equally intriguing people. Powerful people, too, no doubt. As for Fuller’s aforementioned 1977 book The Poison That Fell From the Sky, it told the story of a disastrous situation that occurred on July 10, 1976, in Seveso, Italy. When a local chemical plant malfunctioned, the approximately 17,000 townspeople were exposed to a highly dangerous dioxin: 2, 3, 7, 8 - etrachlorodibenzodioxin. Or, in much easier terms, TCDD. Other nearby towns were hit by the dioxin, too. Studies have shown that exposure to TCDD in and around Seveso caused damage to immune-systems and nervous-systems. Cardiovascular problems surfaced, as did liver issues. It was a catastrophe of huge proportions.
(Nick Redfern) The U.K.'s Porton Down facility: a connection to the story
So, we have large amounts of people, in a small, old European town, many of them severely injured as a result of the dangerous side-effects of science and technology. Does this sound familiar? It’s not at all dissimilar to what happened at Pont-Saint-Esprit in 1951. The only difference was this: in one town, people had their minds blown, and in the other they were severely physically affected. I must say, John Fuller seemed to have a strange thing for disasters in small towns. Not only did he write, in 1977, The Poison That Fell from the Sky; Fuller also wrote a book called The Day of St. Anthony's Fire. The latter just happens to be one of the most authoritative books on that nightmarish 1951 incident in France that we have already addressed: the crazed events at Point-Saint-Esprit. So, we have Fuller having written an alien abduction-themed in 1966 (The Interrupted Journey, as well as two other UFO-based books: Incident at Exeter and Aliens in the Skies) and another, in 1968, on how terrible hallucinogens can wreak havoc in peoples’ minds. Three decades later, Hank Albarelli would make a connection between MK-ULTRA and Pont-Saint-Esprit, as we’ve seen. It doesn’t end there. With regard to Fuller it’s just about beginning.
Back in 1957, Fuller had a decidedly clandestine meeting with a Dr. Karlis Osis, as Marie Jones and Larry Flaxman note in their 2015 book, Mind Wars. As now-declassified CIA files on Osis reveal, he was deep into a wide range of fringe sciences and technologies, including out-of-body experiences, how to alter brain wave frequencies, the means to affect “various biophysical changes,” and mind manipulation. It’s no wonder that Osis was also secretly consulted by the CIA’s MK-ULTRA teams. Days after their first meeting, Osis introduced Fuller to a CIA man named Robert Lashbrook. It turns out that Lashbrook was the very last person to see Dr. Frank Olson alive before he took that deadly, violent shove out of the Hotel Statler in Manhattan. Yes, the very same Dr. Olson who was tied to the Pont-Saint-Esprit debacle.After getting to know Fuller, Dr. Osis guardedly informed him on what was going down with the MK-ULTRA people – of the successes that had been achieved, but also of the disastrous accidents that had occurred with certain hallucinogens. Osis also made Fuller an unforeseen, amazing offer: how would he, Fuller, like to be the very first investigative journalist to break at least a part of the MK-ULTRA story to the Unites States’ media?
Clearly, Osis was recklessly playing both sides at the same time – the government and the media - for reasons that, today, are lost and not clear. As a writer, though, Fuller immediately recognized the dollar value of the story that, potentially, just might be tossed into his lap. At the time, the mid-to-late 1950s, Fuller chose not to publish anything that might have compromised the mind-control programs that both the CIA and the U.S. Army were heavily into at that time. Clearly, however, Fuller never lost the undeniable allure of all this. That is precisely why Fuller decided to write, in 1968, The Day of St. Anthony’s Fire: he was hooked on matters relative to the mysteries of the human mind. As we now know, the story that that particular book told was caused by an MK-ULTRA operation that went dangerously off the rails, leaving more than a few people in asylums and with their minds in total disarray.
(Nick Redfern) Alien abductions...that weren't what they seemed to be
Osis also made a way for Fuller to speak with one Andrija Puharich. He was an American of Yugoslavian extraction, someone who was deeply interested in the mysteries of the human mind, and who, in the 1950s, just happened to work at the Edgewood, Maryland-based U.S. Army Chemical Center. The Edgewood Arsenal being the location where a ball lightning-driven program secretly ran in the 1960s; where significant research of an unethical mind-based nature was undertaken on military personnel; and whose staff secretly liaised with scientists at Porton Down, England. From the mid-1950s, and up to at least the latter part of the 1960s, John Fuller was inextricably, and clandestinely, tied to some of the most significant players in MK-ULTRA – and in other, associated, mind-control projects too. And, Philip Coppens’ work put psychological warfare expert C.D. Jackson right in the heart of the Hill’s encounter on that dark and dangerous night home in September 1961.
John Fuller is long gone and not able to defend himself. I have to say, though, that it’s very hard to accept that Fuller – as an intelligent, investigative journalist and a skilled author – didn’t make even any of the connections between the Hill abduction and the U.S. government’s mind-control operations, And particularly so as a result of his very own links to the staff of MK-ULTRA. It’s even harder to accept that Fuller may have been secretly, and knowingly, brought into the fold by the CIA to kick-start the alien abduction phenomenon via the very first book on the subject: The Interrupted Journey. I have to confess, however, that when I put all of the pieces together – not forgetting Fuller’s uncanny knack of getting his hands on secret government documents - that’s sure how it looks to me.
If the strange and controversial scenario I have put together is indeed the real deal, then it demonstrates that just about anything can be made to look like something else. And, that includes an alien abduction of epic proportions. Of course, this provokes another question: how many alien abductions were created out of mind-control technology? One? Ten? Dozens? Hundreds? And all in the name of hiding the MK-Ultra programs under a UFO banner. It couldn't happen? It most assuredly could happen. The biggest issue, however, is the shock, and the fact, that such a program worked - and that the field of Ufology fell for it all. I could be wildly off, course. But, I don't think I am. I have a very deep feeling that Ufology has been duped to a huge degree. Now, it's time to dig deeper into the controversy of Betty, Barney, the MK-Ultra programs, and Delsey the ever-faithful, loving dog.
Was the Betty and Barney Hill Incident a Top Secret Mind-Control Test? MK-Ultra?
Nick Redfern
Ready to see one of the most famous alleged alien abduction incidents questioned? It’s coming, anyway. It’s that of Betty and Barney Hill. They were a husband and wife who, on the night of September 19, 1961, and while driving home from Canada to New Hampshire after completing a fun vacation, had a significant number of hours erased from their minds. It all happened near Indian Head, New Hampshire. It was there they saw a strange light in the sky that appeared to be carefully shadowing them from above. Concern and anxiety set in, which is no surprise. Finally, they made it home. Something very strange and disturbing happened to the Hills, but such was the state of their minds, they weren’t sure what it was. But, they certainly wanted to know. In the days and weeks that followed, the Hills began to experience terrifying, never-jangling nightmares: there were memories of having been taken on-board a UFO, and of having been subjected to intrusive and stressful medical-based experiments. Betty recalled that the aliens inserted a needle into her navel. Sperm was removed from Barney, via what was termed as “a suction device.” The “alien abduction” phenomenon was up and running, and the issue of “missing time” was well and truly born. The fascination that the Hill’s experience generated – partly due to Betty and Barney’s decision to speak openly at UFO events – ultimately led to the publication in 1966 of The Interrupted Journey: Two Lost Hours “Aboard a Flying Saucer.” It was written by a respected journalist and author, John Fuller.
The story of Betty and Barney – and of their pet dog, Delsey, too, who was also in the car at the time of the incident - still provokes interest and intrigue to this very day. It is to alien abductions what Roswell is to tales of crashed UFOs: a key case in the history of Ufology. What if, however, aliens did not abduct Betty and Barney? What if – just like those who were present in Rendlesham Forest in 1980 – the pair were led to believe they had undergone something that had extraterrestrial origins, when things were actually much different? One of those who came to believe that the Hills had been subjected to an MK-ULTRA-type encounter was the late Philip Coppens. He said: “It is clear that the Hills were being monitored by USAF [U.S. Air Force] Intelligence before the encounter took place, through Major James MacDonald, who had befriended them some time earlier. Betty Hill wrote to [UFO researcher / author] Donald Keyhoe who, despite the fact that he received over a hundred letters a day, homed in on this initially unremarkable case. Within twenty-four hours, Keyhoe had arranged for the Hills to be visited by top-level scientists, including C.D. Jackson, who had previously (definitely not coincidentally) worked on psychological warfare techniques for President Eisenhower [italics mine]. Stretching coincidence far beyond breaking point, Jackson already knew Major MacDonald, with whom he next interviewed the Hills.”
(Nick Redfern) How to manipulate minds in the name of UFOs: drugs and hazmats
Philip continued on: “It seems that Betty and Barney Hill were at the center of a web that involved USAF Intelligence and top military experts in psychological warfare. The evidence suggests that the Hills were the subjects – victims – of a psychological experiment [italics mine].” Those who believe that the Betty and Barney Hill experience was a genuine alien abduction case might very well balk at the words of Coppens. That’s not a wise approach to take, though. You’ll soon come to see why. Sadly, Coppens was unable to continue his work on the case for long on this topic. In 2012, he was quickly taken by a very rare form of cancer at the age of just forty-one: Angiosarcoma. On average, it kills slightly less than two hundred people in the United States per year. Philip Coppens is gone, but the threads of his research have allowed us to take his investigations further into the associations between UFOs and mind-manipulation. In a roundabout way, the story of Betty and Barney Hill has a link to the events that occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit on August 15, 1951. And also to MK-ULTRA. That’s a jaw-dropping claim for someone to make; it is, however, absolutely true. I noted that John Fuller, in 1966, wrote a full-length book on the experiences of Betty and Barney Hill: The Interrupted Journey. Philip Coppens concluded that those same experiences were linked to early mind-control programs of the U.S. government.
As for Fuller, he was an intriguing character. When he died in 1990, at the age of seventy-six, the New York Times ran an obituary on him. It was written by a Times journalist, Edwin McDowell, who stated that Fuller was occasionally "...criticized by reviewers for not using footnotes in his books and for what they judged was the implausibility of his topics. But as Jeff Greenfield wrote in The New York Times Book Review in reviewing ‘The Poison That Fell From the Sky,’ Mr. Fuller ‘keeps raising the most unsettling of questions.’ Moreover, even before passage of the Freedom of Information Act, he had a facility for somehow obtaining Government documents [italics mine], which he incorporated in some of his books.” The fact that Fuller had a strange knack for getting his hands on official papers prior to FOIA legislation was passed, suggests strongly that he moved in intriguing places and with equally intriguing people. Powerful people, too, no doubt. As for Fuller’s aforementioned 1977 book The Poison That Fell From the Sky, it told the story of a disastrous situation that occurred on July 10, 1976, in Seveso, Italy. When a local chemical plant malfunctioned, the approximately 17,000 townspeople were exposed to a highly dangerous dioxin: 2, 3, 7, 8 - etrachlorodibenzodioxin. Or, in much easier terms, TCDD. Other nearby towns were hit by the dioxin, too. Studies have shown that exposure to TCDD in and around Seveso caused damage to immune-systems and nervous-systems. Cardiovascular problems surfaced, as did liver issues. It was a catastrophe of huge proportions.
(Nick Redfern) The U.K.'s Porton Down facility: a connection to the story
So, we have large amounts of people, in a small, old European town, many of them severely injured as a result of the dangerous side-effects of science and technology. Does this sound familiar? It’s not at all dissimilar to what happened at Pont-Saint-Esprit in 1951. The only difference was this: in one town, people had their minds blown, and in the other they were severely physically affected. I must say, John Fuller seemed to have a strange thing for disasters in small towns. Not only did he write, in 1977, The Poison That Fell from the Sky; Fuller also wrote a book called The Day of St. Anthony's Fire. The latter just happens to be one of the most authoritative books on that nightmarish 1951 incident in France that we have already addressed: the crazed events at Point-Saint-Esprit. So, we have Fuller having written an alien abduction-themed in 1966 (The Interrupted Journey, as well as two other UFO-based books: Incident at Exeter and Aliens in the Skies) and another, in 1968, on how terrible hallucinogens can wreak havoc in peoples’ minds. Three decades later, Hank Albarelli would make a connection between MK-ULTRA and Pont-Saint-Esprit, as we’ve seen. It doesn’t end there. With regard to Fuller it’s just about beginning.
Back in 1957, Fuller had a decidedly clandestine meeting with a Dr. Karlis Osis, as Marie Jones and Larry Flaxman note in their 2015 book, Mind Wars. As now-declassified CIA files on Osis reveal, he was deep into a wide range of fringe sciences and technologies, including out-of-body experiences, how to alter brain wave frequencies, the means to affect “various biophysical changes,” and mind manipulation. It’s no wonder that Osis was also secretly consulted by the CIA’s MK-ULTRA teams. Days after their first meeting, Osis introduced Fuller to a CIA man named Robert Lashbrook. It turns out that Lashbrook was the very last person to see Dr. Frank Olson alive before he took that deadly, violent shove out of the Hotel Statler in Manhattan. Yes, the very same Dr. Olson who was tied to the Pont-Saint-Esprit debacle.After getting to know Fuller, Dr. Osis guardedly informed him on what was going down with the MK-ULTRA people – of the successes that had been achieved, but also of the disastrous accidents that had occurred with certain hallucinogens. Osis also made Fuller an unforeseen, amazing offer: how would he, Fuller, like to be the very first investigative journalist to break at least a part of the MK-ULTRA story to the Unites States’ media?
Clearly, Osis was recklessly playing both sides at the same time – the government and the media - for reasons that, today, are lost and not clear. As a writer, though, Fuller immediately recognized the dollar value of the story that, potentially, just might be tossed into his lap. At the time, the mid-to-late 1950s, Fuller chose not to publish anything that might have compromised the mind-control programs that both the CIA and the U.S. Army were heavily into at that time. Clearly, however, Fuller never lost the undeniable allure of all this. That is precisely why Fuller decided to write, in 1968, The Day of St. Anthony’s Fire: he was hooked on matters relative to the mysteries of the human mind. As we now know, the story that that particular book told was caused by an MK-ULTRA operation that went dangerously off the rails, leaving more than a few people in asylums and with their minds in total disarray.
(Nick Redfern) Alien abductions...that weren't what they seemed to be
Osis also made a way for Fuller to speak with one Andrija Puharich. He was an American of Yugoslavian extraction, someone who was deeply interested in the mysteries of the human mind, and who, in the 1950s, just happened to work at the Edgewood, Maryland-based U.S. Army Chemical Center. The Edgewood Arsenal being the location where a ball lightning-driven program secretly ran in the 1960s; where significant research of an unethical mind-based nature was undertaken on military personnel; and whose staff secretly liaised with scientists at Porton Down, England. From the mid-1950s, and up to at least the latter part of the 1960s, John Fuller was inextricably, and clandestinely, tied to some of the most significant players in MK-ULTRA – and in other, associated, mind-control projects too. And, Philip Coppens’ work put psychological warfare expert C.D. Jackson right in the heart of the Hill’s encounter on that dark and dangerous night home in September 1961.
John Fuller is long gone and not able to defend himself. I have to say, though, that it’s very hard to accept that Fuller – as an intelligent, investigative journalist and a skilled author – didn’t make even any of the connections between the Hill abduction and the U.S. government’s mind-control operations, And particularly so as a result of his very own links to the staff of MK-ULTRA. It’s even harder to accept that Fuller may have been secretly, and knowingly, brought into the fold by the CIA to kick-start the alien abduction phenomenon via the very first book on the subject: The Interrupted Journey. I have to confess, however, that when I put all of the pieces together – not forgetting Fuller’s uncanny knack of getting his hands on secret government documents - that’s sure how it looks to me.
If the strange and controversial scenario I have put together is indeed the real deal, then it demonstrates that just about anything can be made to look like something else. And, that includes an alien abduction of epic proportions. Of course, this provokes another question: how many alien abductions were created out of mind-control technology? One? Ten? Dozens? Hundreds? And all in the name of hiding the MK-Ultra programs under a UFO banner. It couldn't happen? It most assuredly could happen. The biggest issue, however, is the shock, and the fact, that such a program worked - and that the field of Ufology fell for it all. I could be wildly off, course. But, I don't think I am. I have a very deep feeling that Ufology has been duped to a huge degree. Now, it's time to dig deeper into the controversy of Betty, Barney, the MK-Ultra programs, and Delsey the ever-faithful, loving dog.
Hiker captures 'ghostly figure' walking alongside him in Lake District, UK
A man captured the moment he spotted a "ghostly figure" walking alongside him in the Lake District. Chris Randall, 45, was hiking when he spotted a Brocken spectre - a large shadow of an observer cast onto cloud or mist - out of the corner of his eye. Chris was camping alone on Red Pike near Wasdale Head in Cumbria when he saw the "ghostly" phenomenon.
A Brocken spectre also called Brocken bow or mountain spectre, is the magnified (and apparently enormous) shadow of an observer cast upon clouds or mist opposite the Sun's direction.
The figure's head is often surrounded by the halo-like rings of coloured light forming a glory, which appears opposite the Sun's direction when uniformly-sized water droplets in clouds or mist refract and backscatter sunlight.
The phenomenon can appear on any misty mountainside or cloud bank, even when seen from an airplane, but the frequent fogs and low-altitude accessibility of the Brocken, a peak in the Harz Mountains in Germany, have created a local legend from which the phenomenon draws its name.
The Brocken spectre was observed and described by Johann Silberschlag in 1780, and has since been recorded often in literature about the region.
Here are two more videos of this eerie 'Brocken spectre' phenomenon.
David Adair on Secret SPACE TECHNOLOGY, Moon Anomalies, and ALIEN Engine at AREA 51
“Best Of” David Adair’s Secret Space Fairing Technology, Moon Anomalies, and Alien Engine at AREA 51 – Coast to Coast AM Archived Shows.
Adair is an expert on space technology spin-off applications for both commercial and industrial use. At the age of 11, he built hundreds of rockets, which he tested and flew. At 17, he received the highest award in the field of engineering sciences from the US Air Force. At 19, he developed a revolutionary mechanical system that helped the US Navy speed up the turnaround time of jet turbine engines.
He is a world-renowned presenter and workshop leader. His presentations are filled with anecdotes about his experiences with the space program and Area 51. He also discusses his involvement in various commercial technology developments.
The world is big. Even in this modern day and age, we still don’t have a clue about what lurks in the remote corners of this planet. The oceans, vast and enigmatic, have only been partially explored - and what lurks in those blue depths is full of mystery. Could the same be said for land? Could we still be surprised to discover unique fauna species that we thought were long gone? The so-called Sivatherium is a likely candidate, and the possibility of its survival has scholars scratching their heads in confusion. This mystery began with the discovery of a unique copper rein ring in the remnants of ancient Kish in modern-day Iraq. The animal depicted on this object is uncannily similar to the Sivatherium. Could it be that ancient civilizations lived alongside this living relic of primordial times?
What is the Sivatherium of Kish, and Where’s the Mystery?
A Sivatherium is an extinct genus of primordial giraffids that once roamed the Indian subcontinent and throughout Africa. It was a robust, powerful animal, and one of the largest ruminants of all time. However, scholars agree that it has been extinct for a very long time. The species came to be around 7 million years ago in the Late Miocene, and was most likely gone by the Early Pleistocene, roughly 1 million years ago.
And that’s where the conundrum begins.
Digitally restored skeleton of Sivatherium giganteum from the Siwalik hills, India . ( Basu et al/CC BY 4.0 )
How could an animal of such ancient times slip through time and live on until the dawn of civilization? It sounds truly unimaginable, but evidence has appeared that tells us otherwise. Some of the earliest indications of this were found on ancient rock paintings in the Sahara and Central West India. These crude paintings show an animal much akin to a Sivatherium, suggesting that the animal actually went extinct as recently as 8,000 years ago!
But the main surprise came about during archaeological excavations of ancient Kish, a Sumerian city-state situated in the ancient cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia. A chance discovery offered tantalizing evidence that the Sivathere possibly survived to more recent times, particularly to the dawn of Mesopotamian civilizations and the first inventions of the wheel and the writing systems. The object in question was discovered during a joint archaeological expedition between the Field Museum and Oxford University in mid-1920’s: an elaborate copper rein ring created to fit onto the tongue of a chariot. This item was discovered in a deeper level and was dated to roughly 3,500 BC and lay alongside the remnants of a chariot and the skeletal remains of a horse.
A Masterful Rendition of an Elusive Ruminant Beast
Granted, copper rein rings were discovered several times before that, and were not a novelty to archaeologists. In fact, they were commonplace, especially the ones dated to that era. However, one thing made this find stand out: and that was the animal depicted on the ring.
Usually, rein rings from Mesopotamia depicted draft animals that we all know, chiefly horses and the like. But the one found at Kish showed an antlered ruminant that was totally unique - and oddly similar to a Sivathere! At first, researchers thought that the animal represented a stag, likely a Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) , considering the similarity of the horns. Early researchers thought that the Sumerians tamed deer as well, using them to pull chariots, as written in the following statement:
“Copper rein rings were known from Kish heretofore, but the previous ones were surmounted by the figure of a species of Equidae or simply by metal loops for the reins. In this case the figure was an unsuspected member of the Cervidae, and a long and heavy rope from the animal's muzzle indicates that stags must have been captured alive and tamed by the early Sumerians.”
But following deeper examination, it became clear that what was discovered at Kish was no animal known today. The artist’s hands carefully recreated a unique animal - down to the smallest details. And what can be seen is awfully like a Sivatherium of old, which can be thoroughly reconstructed from fossil remains.
Chiefly, the proportions are totally different from that of a stag, especially in the representation of the body. The animal on the rein ring is clearly a ruminant and a giraffid, and not a stag. Of course, the most important telltale clue are the horns. Sivatheriums had unique double antlers with two smaller horns right above the eyes. The exact same has been reproduced in copper form here.
Ancient Sumerian copper (alloy) rein rings from Kish. (Field Museum of Natural History/ CC BY-NC 4.0 )
A Prehistoric Being Surviving Through Millenia
Could it be that a Sivatherium survived until 3,500 BC? Judging by the attention to detail, anatomical proportions, and the accuracy of the sculpted head, the metalsmith of Kish who created this fascinating and exquisite piece was not creating some imaginary fantastical beast. In fact, everything points to the fact that the artist saw the animal firsthand - and several times - thus knowing very well what to sculpt. If this curious object is solid proof that the Sivatherium existed in ancient Sumer, then the modern narrative on the creature is thoroughly wrong. If this is the case, then it could be likely that a certain population of Sivathere survived in the region of ancient Mesopotamia and was known to the Sumerians.
However, when one looks at the area of Iraq today, one has to wonder how would a giraffid of old survive here? Today, the region is arid, sandy, hot, and dusty, without much vegetation whatsoever. The remnants of ancient city-states like Kish, Nippur, Lagash, Uruk, Ur, Eridu, and others, are now covered with nothing but sand. But five thousand years ago, the region was wholly different.
Kish was situated at the eastern edge of the vast region of Mesopotamia, also a part of the region called the Fertile Crescent. This was a vast arc of land watered by the powerful waters of the Tigris and Euphrates (and the Nile to the west), and one of the earliest cradles of civilization. Five millennia ago, rainfall was much higher in the region, and nothing was as arid as it is today. There was more greenery and vegetation, and an abundance of crops and food. It is no wonder that it was there that ancient hunter gatherer nomads first turned to a sedentary lifestyle, changing history as they did so.
Thus, the valleys of Mesopotamia were once verdant and fertile, and could have been the home to isolated populations of Sivatherium. Undoubtedly, by 4,000 - 3,500 BC, such an animal would have been rare. You can imagine how awesome it would have seemed for the people of Sumer.
If it did actually exist at that time, then it would surely be considered a mythical beast, or an elusive draft animal reserved only for the most powerful of rulers. Adding to this theory is another unique detail of the copper Sivatherium rein ring. And that is an alleged rope attached to the animal’s snout. Could it be that the Sumerians managed to capture and tame a certain number of Sivatherium beasts? Were these powerful and very strong ruminants used as draft animals, or for pulling war chariots ?
A Deer or a Sivatherium? The Discussion is Ongoing
In 1977, some 50 years after the “Sivatherium of Kish” was discovered, a German archaeologist and researcher, Michael Müller-Karpe, accidentally discovered some additional elements of the copper rein ring. While visiting, he discovered the broken-off tips of the horns that were thought lost. He found them in "a small box of dried mud in a Field Museum storeroom". These were recognized to be the missing tops of the Sivatherium horns, and they fit perfectly.
However, many immediately argued that the being is, in fact, a fallow deer . This led to a string of discussions, and the scientific and archaeological world is still somewhat divided on the subject. However, evidence for this being a Sivatherium is in abundance. In his 1936 work on the topic of the rein ring, Edwin Colbert presented 7 valid points in defense of the “Sivatherium theory”. He lists them as follows (direct quote):
Sivatherium was a very large animal having body proportions similar to those of a large ox; that is, the limbs and the neck were not elongated as in the modern African giraffe. The figurine represents an animal with a normal ruminant body.
In Sivatherium the skull carried two sets of horn cores, a relatively small conical pair directly over the eyes and a large palmate pair at the back of the skull. This same arrangement of “horns” or “antlers” is shown by the figurine from Kish.
The small conical horn cores of Sivatherium are of frontal origin, and such would seem to be the case in the figurine.
The large, palmate horn cores of Sivatherium are of parietal origin, that is they are located on the occiput. In the figurine the palmate “horn cores” or “antlers” would certainly seem to be located on the back of the skull, as in Sivatherium, rather than on the frontals as is the rule in the Cervidae.
The posterior horn cores of Sivatherium are typified by inwardly projecting points at their bases, and the same features are shown in the figurine.
In the posterior horn cores of Sivatherium the bases are transversely broadened, and somewhat flattened on their anterior and posterior surfaces, giving them elliptical cross sections. A similar condition would seem to be shown in the posterior antlers of the Kish figurine.
In the statuette from Kish it would appear as if the nose is swollen and somewhat dependent, as might have been the case in Sivatherium, a genus characterized in part by its abbreviated nasal bones. On the other hand, it may be possible that the peculiar appearance of the nasal region in the statuette can be explained as the representation of a halter on the muzzle of the animal.
Alas, even today the question is open to discussion and examination. Some consider the Sivatherium theory a fringe, kooky, belief. But when faced with other similar discoveries, they quickly realize that the possibility is totally real.
One such find was made in the Algerian Sahara. Here, the Tassili n’Ajjer rock paintings were discovered, presenting many ancient animals. One of these was a peculiar and out-of-place giraffid, which seems to be a Sivatherium. Other discoveries include an ancient Hittite cylinder seal, also depicting a strange horned animal similar to a Sivatherium. Some 8,000-year-old petroglyphs in the Sahara also depict a similar being, and the list just goes on. Is this the evidence we need?
An Enigma That We Might Never Solve
Nevertheless, the question still remains a mystery. If there is a logical explanation behind the Sivatherium of Kish, the scientific world has yet to find it. And just like the enigmatic paintings of pygmy elephants from an ancient Egyptian tomb, the Sivatherium seems out-of-place and out-of-time, giving researchers a proper headache.
Left: Detailed view of the rein ring figurine found at Kish. Right: Reconstruction of the head of a Silvatherium giganteum. (Drawn by Margaret Matthew Colbert.) ( Edwin H. Colbert )
In the end, we may never know the truth. After all, it could be simply a poor Sumerian rendition of a fallow deer. But then again, it could be an accurate rendition of a tamed Sivatherium. Either way, the question remains open to all. Just remember that the world can be full of wonders and surprises. We still don’t know for sure what beings lurk in the unexplored depths of the Amazon jungle, and other inhospitable, untouched places of this world. After all, one has to believe.
Piper, R. 2009. Dead as a Dodo. Scrubmuncher’s Blog.
Piper, R. 2009. Extinct Animals: An Encyclopedia of Species that Have Disappeared during Human History: An Encyclopedia of Species that Have Disappeared during Human History. ABC-CLIO.
The New Discovery in Egypt That Scares Scientists!
You think the era of the ancient Egyptians is over? Don’t be so quick to assume! Countless artifacts still lie dormant in the hot desert sand, waiting to give us a vivid glimpse into the past! From stunning statues to demonic drawings to long-lost metropolises, here are several Egyptian discoveries that will leave us baffled!
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NASA Just Detected The First Ever Alien Signal Coming From Proxima B!
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Scientists Are Scared of Strange Behavior of Giant Objects in Space
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NASA's Terrifying Plan to Colonize Mars Finally Revealed!
Over the last century, everything we’ve learned about Mars suggests that the planet was once quite capable of hosting ecosystems—and that it might still be an incubator for microbial life today.
Mars is the fourth rock from the sun, just after Earth. It is just a smidge more than half of Earth’s size, with gravity only 38 percent that of Earth’s. It takes longer than Earth to complete a full orbit around the sun—but it rotates around its axis at roughly the same speed. That’s why one year on Mars lasts for 687 Earth days, while a day on Mars is just 40 minutes longer than on Earth.
Despite its smaller size, the planet’s land area is also roughly equivalent to the surface area of Earth’s continents—meaning that, at least in theory, Mars has the same amount of habitable real estate. Unfortunately, the planet is now wrapped in a thin carbon dioxide atmosphere and cannot support earthly life-forms. Methane gas also periodically appears in the atmosphere of this desiccated world, and the soil contains compounds that would be toxic to life as we know it. Although water does exist on Mars, it’s locked into the planet’s icy polar caps and buried, perhaps in abundance, beneath the Martian surface.
See Chinese spacewalkers work outside Tiangong space station in these highlights
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What Did A Soviet Probe Find On Venus? First Real Images Of Venus
Venus... It is considered to be the evil twin of the Earth. Rains of sulfuric acid, carbon dioxide-filled air, hellish temperatures... But this world has always interested us. And the Soviet Union decided to do the seemingly impossible - land a probe on its surface.
Scientists didn’t give up, and collected unique scientific data and received images directly from the surface of the planet.
So how did one Soviet spacecraft manage to withstand the hellish planet’s heat for almost an hour? What did the Soviet probes and the Parker Solar Probe capture? And why do some images of Venus still surprise scientists?
Elon Musk: "SpaceX Keep Detecting Something Massive During Their Missions!!!"
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Secret 10-Year Mission to an Alien Planet 40 Light Years Away | Project Serpo
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What if you were offered the opportunity to visit another planet?
You get to experience the culture of an alien race, explore a new world; see and use technology that's 5,000 years ahead of ours.
Would you do it?
Before you answer, there are a few catches. You'll be gone for at least ten years. And when you return to Earth, all evidence of your existence will be erased. You have to start a new life, with a new identity; forbidden to tell anyone about what you experienced.
Now would you do it?
In 1965, 12 astronauts were sent to an alien planet as part of a human-alien exchange program. 13 years later the astronauts returned home.
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Meteorite that fell on Britain has clues to how life formed on Earth, experts say
By Daily Mail Reporter
An analysis of the space rock has revealed it contains 11% water and 2% carbon
Experts say finding show asteroids played key role in kickstarting oceans and life
The meteorite said to give ‘insight into how the Earth came to have water'
A meteorite that fell in the UK last year holds key information about how oceans – and life – formed on Earth, scientists have said.
An analysis of the space rock, which fell on to Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, has revealed it contains 11 per cent water and 2 per cent carbon.
The experts said their findings, published in Science Advances, show that asteroids played a key role in ‘delivering the ingredients needed to kickstart oceans and life’.
Dr Luke Daly, of the University ofGlasgow, said they give ‘insight into how the Earth came to have water – the source of so much life’.
Extra-terrestrial water has been found for the first time in a meteorite that has fallen in the UK. The Winchcombe meteorite crashed into a driveway in the Gloucestershire town last year
He said: 'One of the biggest questions asked of the scientific community is how did we get here?
'This analysis on the Winchcombe meteorite gives insight into how the Earth came to have water - the source of so much life.
'Researchers will continue to work on this specimen for years to come, unlocking more secrets into the origins of our solar system.'
The Winchcombe meteorite belongs to a rare class of rocks known as carbonaceous chondrites.
Carbonaceous chondrites comprise about 3 per cent of all meteorites collected on Earth and are thought to contain unaltered chemicals from the formation of the solar system more than four billion years ago.
Dr Ashley King, of the Natural History Museum and author on the paper, said the analysis offers scientists 'a tantalising glimpse back through time to the original composition of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago'.
Analysis of the meteorite sample revealed extraterrestrial water that is, what the researchers say, “is locked-up in minerals that formed during chemical reactions between fluids and rocks on its parent asteroid in the earliest stages of the solar system”.
Chemical analysis revealed this water to closely resemble the composition of water on Earth.
The samples were also found to contain amino acids - molecules that are one of the essential components for the origin of life.
The researchers said rapid recovery of the meteorite allowed experts to analyse its composition while in pristine state.
Dr Natasha Almeida, curator of meteorites at the Natural History Museum and a co-author of the paper, said: 'We’re still reeling from our good fortune to have such an important meteorite fall in the UK, and are so grateful to the local community for their donations and the UK’s cosmochemistry network for coming together to produce this extensive study.
'The combination of such a quick recovery, careful collection, and our ongoing curation of Winchcombe in a nitrogen atmosphere means this incredibly fresh specimen will remain one of the most pristine meteorites in collections worldwide.'
Meteoriet die op Engelse oprijlaan terechtkwam, bevat aanwijzingen hoe water (en dus leven) op aarde is ontstaan
Een meteoriet die afgelopen jaar op een oprijlaan in de Engelse Cotswolds neerstortte, zou wel eens belangrijke aanwijzingen kunnen bevatten over het leven op aarde en hoe dat is ontstaan. Meer specifiek gaat het om de vloeistof die werd teruggevonden in de meteoriet. De samenstelling ervan lijkt immers op het water op aarde, zo staat te lezen in een analyse in het vaktijdschrift ‘Science Advances’.
De meteoriet, die later omgedoopt zou worden tot de Winchcombe-meteoriet, landde in februari 2021 op een oprijlaan in Gloucestershire. Enkele uren daarvoor had de meteoriet de hemel boven het Verenigd Koninkrijk nog verlicht, een prettige afleiding tijdens de zoveelste lockdown. Eenmaal neergekomen, bleek het stuk ruimtesteen maar liefst 4,6 miljard jaar oud en afkomstig te zijn van de planetoïdengordel tussen Jupiter en Mars.
Nog belangrijker, de meteoriet bleek een van de “meest ongerepte” ooit te zijn. De Winchcombe-meteoriet werd reeds enkele uren na de landing verzameld, nog voor er regen was gevallen. Ook de analyse liet niet lang op zich wachten, waardoor onderzoekers de unieke kans kregen om een blik te werpen in het (verre) verleden.
Water en leven op aarde
En zo geeft de meteoriet in de Cotswolds ons een nieuwe aanwijzing hoe water op aarde is terechtgekomen en leven is kunnen ontstaan. Daar is immers nog wat onduidelijkheid over. Sommige theorieën opperen dat kometen en asteroïden een grote rol hebben gespeeld wat betreft de ontstaansgeschiedenis van water. En de Winchcombe-meteoriet lijkt dat grotendeels te bevestigen.
“De samenstelling van het water op andere asteroïden komt niet echt overeen met het water in onze oceanen, maar de samenstelling van het water van de Winchcombe-meteoriet komt wel (beter) overeen”, aldus Ashley King van het Natural History Museum. “Dat zou kunnen betekenen dat asteroïden wellicht de belangrijkste bron van water op aarde zijn geweest.”
Twee op de drie ervaart déjà vu: wetenschapsexpert legt uit wat dit gevoel veroorzaakt
In de nieuwe tv-reeks ‘Déjà Vu’, vanaf vanavond te zien op Play4, reizen de personages letterlijk door de tijd. De kans is groot dat jij ook al eens overvallen werd door het gevoel dat je iets al eens hebt meegemaakt, terwijl je weet dat dit onmogelijk is. Net als de Vlaamse fictiereeks draagt dit fenomeen de naam ‘déjà vu’ en wetenschappers breken er al sinds de 19de eeuw hun hoofd over. HLN-wetenschapsexpert Martijn Peters legt uit wat we er inmiddels over weten.
Martijn Peters
We hebben er allemaal wel eens over gehoord of het zelfs al meegemaakt… een déjà vu. Het moment waarop het gevoel je overvalt dat je - wat je op dat moment meemaakt - al eens meegemaakt hebt. En dat terwijl je heel goed beseft dat dit eigenlijk helemaal niet mogelijk is. Er is als het ware een kortsluiting in jouw hersenen aan de gang, een strijd tussen een objectieve observatie van onbekendheid en subjectief gevoel van bekendheid. Normaal komt een gevoel van vertrouwdheid bijna altijd overeen met de objectieve realiteit. Bijvoorbeeld wanneer je jouw huis binnenwandelt. Als dit niet het geval is, dan valt dit natuurlijk extra hard op.
Ongeveer twee derde van de bevolking maakt een déjà vu mee in zijn leven. Sommigen zelfs meerdere keren. Meestal is de trigger voor zo’n ervaring een bezoek aan een bepaalde plaats. Daarom lijkt het vaker voor te komen bij mensen die regelmatig reizen. Daarnaast lokt ook een gesprek vaak een déjà vu uit. Hoe ouder je bent, hoe lager de kans is dat je het (nog) ervaart. Je geslacht lijkt dan weer geen invloed te hebben, of je moe en gestresst bent dan weer wel.
Een mogelijke verklaring voor déjà vu is dat herinneringen onbewust onze beleving zouden kunnen beïnvloeden.
Martijn Peters
Herinneringen uit een vorig leven of onze hersenen die ons parten spelen?
Maar is er ook een wetenschappelijke uitleg voor dat déjà-vugevoel? Want vaak kom je verklaringen tegen met een paranormaal tintje. Bijvoorbeeld dat het gevoel verbonden zou zijn met een vorig leven of paranormale gaven. Helaas is er vanuit de wetenschap nog geen eenduidig antwoord op die vraag. Maar dat betekent niet dat de wetenschap heeft stilgezeten, want er zijn wel heel wat hypotheses. Je kan ze in vier categorieën onderverdelen: duale verwerking, neurologisch, geheugen en aandacht.
Bij duale verwerking vertrekt men van de veronderstelling dat er een storing is in de normale werking van twee processen in de hersenen die met elkaar betrokken zijn. Bijvoorbeeld dat ze niet meer synchroon verlopen of dat er één van de twee gewoon niet geactiveerd wordt. Bij de neurologische categorie opperen wetenschappers dat er een neurologisch probleem aan de basis ligt, zoals veranderingen in de snelheid van signalen in onze hersenen.
De derde categorie vermoedt dat ons geheugen ons in de maling neemt. Zo zouden herinneringen onbewust onze beleving kunnen beïnvloeden. Tot slot is er nog de categorie die een verband ziet tussen de déjà vu en onze aandachtigheid of het gebrek daaraan. Zo zou je iets onbewust waarnemen doordat je afgeleid bent om het daarna opnieuw bewust waar te nemen wanneer je wel aandachtig bent. Hierdoor krijg je dat vertrouwd gevoel zonder te beseffen dat je het een fractie van een seconde geleden al beleefd hebt.
Tot nu toe blijft de wetenschap ons een antwoord schuldig. Misschien is dat in één van die categorieën te vinden, misschien ook in alle vier. De wetenschappers zoeken geestdriftig verder en ondertussen kunnen wij ons blijven laten verwonderen door een déjà vu.
Déjà Vu’ is vanaf donderdag 17 november om 21 uur te zien op Play4.
JAXA’s Ambitious Mission to Phobos Will Even Have German-Built Rover
Japan and Germany have a history of collaboration in scientific and technological endeavours. The countries have a Joint Committee on Cooperation in Science Technology that has met many times over the decades. Both countries have advanced, powerful economies and sophisticated technological know-how, so it makes sense they’d collaborate on scientific activities.
This time, their cooperation concerns a small, potato-shaped chunk of rock: Mars’ moon Phobos.
In 2024, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans to launch the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to Phobos and Deimos. Deimos will get the fly-by treatment, but JAXA has more ambitious ideas for Phobos. They intend to land a spacecraft on Phobos—maybe twice—and collect samples for return to Earth. (JAXA has a track record of gathering samples from elsewhere, so don’t bet against them.)
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) will send a rover on the mission. The rover is called the MMX Rover, a small 25 kg (55 lb) wheeled vehicle that will be “dropped” on the surface of Phobos from a height of about 50 meters.
This image shows the MMX rover being delivered to the DLR site in Bremen, where engineers will complete its assembly. Image Credit: DLR.
“With the MMX rover, we are breaking new ground in terms of technology because never before has an exploration vehicle with wheels travelled on a small celestial body with only one-thousandth of the Earth’s gravitational pull,” said Dr. Markus Grebenstein from the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics in Oberpfaffenhofen.
Getting the rover onto Phobos’ surface is not an ordinary landing procedure. The little vehicle will be dropped onto the moon and tumble as it falls. When it reaches the surface, it’ll need to right itself and get to work.
“As the rover free-falls onto Phobos following separation from the spacecraft, it will perform several ‘somersaults’ upon touchdown without damage and come to rest in an unpredictable position. From this situation, it must autonomously upright itself with the help of the propulsion system and unfold its solar panels,” said Grebenstein, DLR’s project manager for the MMX rover. “Finally, it will travel very carefully at only a few millimetres per second in order to retain contact with the ground with its special wheels despite the low gravity.”
Once there, it’ll use its instruments: a radiometer and a Raman spectrometer for in-situ measurements of the moon’s surface. Why those two?
The Raman spectrometer RAX (Raman spectroscopy for MMX. ) It’ll determine Phobos mineralogical composition. Image Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
It’s because of the questions around Phobos and its sibling, Deimos. Scientists aren’t sure if they’re captured asteroids from the main belt or elsewhere in the Solar System—possibly from as far away as the Kuiper Belt—or if they’re rubble pile asteroids that formed at Mars. Some evidence shows that they’re being torn apart by Mars’ gravity. They may even have been destroyed once already and reformed again, or they may be the result of an impact that sent Martian material into orbit, where it coalesced.
The Raman spectrometer will reveal Phobos’ mineralogical composition. Mineralogical composition is critical to understanding Phobos’ origins. Like any Solar System body, its composition tells scientists where it’s from. For instance, some elements are far more common in the inner Solar System, while others only form beyond the frost line.
The rover’s radiometer will measure the power of the moon’s electromagnetic radiation. It’ll be tuned to the infrared spectrum and effectively measure Phobos’ temperature. That helps lead to an understanding of the moon’s porosity, which scientists can compare to other Solar System bodies. Scientists can use that data to help understand the moon’s origins.
The radiometer will measure the strength of the infrared radiation coming from Phobos. That, in turn, tells scientists something about the moon’s porosity, and by comparing it to asteroids and comets, they can start to understand its origins. Image Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
The rover will also have four cameras: two are for navigation, and two will monitor the wheels on the ground.
The mission’s crowning achievement will be the sample return. JAXA intends to outdo its impressive sampling achievement from the Hayabusa 2 mission. That mission returned samples of asteroid Ryugu that are carbon-rich fragments. They’ll help determine the source of water and organic molecules delivered to Earth.
With MMX, JAXA hopes to collect a much larger sample than the Ryugu sample, up to 100 times larger. Because of conditions on Phobos, the mission only has 90 minutes to collect samples before darkness returns, and the spacecraft needs to leave the surface. If all goes well, the sample will be back on Earth in 2029.
Those restraints won’t affect the rover. It’ll take its measurements and then die on Phobos, but first, it’ll contribute to the sampling operation. The MMX Rover will reach the surface first and help determine the landing spot for the Exploration Module. Data and images from the rover will also serve as a reference for the orbiter’s instruments.
There are layers of international cooperation on this mission. The MMX mission is Japan’s project, and the DLR will supply the rover. But Spain is helping develop the Raman spectrometer, and the French space agency is involved in the project, too.
So when the mission hopefully lands on Phobos and succeeds in collecting samples, there’ll be teams of jubilant scientists and engineers in several countries.
Happy JAXA personnel showed their “V” for victory signs after Hayabusa 2 successfully collected samples from asteroid Ryugu. Image Credit: JAXA
Big glowing UFO flying over Gainesville, Georgia YESTERDAY
This bright unidentified flying object was seen and recorded in the night sky above the city of Gainesville, the county seat of Hall County, Georgia. This happened yesterday (on 16th November 2022).
Witness report:
As I was recording video in the direction of SW, I first observed one object for a few seconds then all the sudden I observed a closer object that was very bright and glowing in a oval shape heading from southwest to a northeastern direction. As I continued to record the object stayed in a straight direction and I finally observed the object just fade out and disappear.
UFO traveling at 72,000mph and sucking water from Michigan lakes revealed
More than 300 people witnessed a horrific UFO sighting in Michigan on March 8, 1994. Credit: Netflix
More people reportedly saw a UFO in Michigan on March 8, 1994. According to reports, more than 300 people witnessed the incident.
In a recent Unsolved Mysteries episode, a chilling new detail about the incident was revealed. Hundreds of calls were made to the emergency services due to the incident.
Over 300 individuals reportedly saw objects flying in the sky that were capable of screaming at speeds of over 72,000 mph. Two of them said they watched in horror as the UFO sucked out fresh water using a technological feat.
Although the stories about the incident vary from one person to another, the similarities between the descriptions of the objects and the individuals who witnessed it are still apparent.
Reports stated that several objects, including lights, were spotted from various areas near the Great Lake. Reports also stated that the objects moved in a circular path.
Meteorologist Jack Bushong was working that night at the National Weather Service’s facility in the county airport in Michigan. While he was monitoring the incident, he confirmed that the reports about the UFOs were legitimate.
According to a radio operator, the objects were not airplanes. They were described as being as big as a half-inch thumbnail. They were moving at speeds of up to 12,000 feet. Three of them were heading toward Chicago.
Officer Jeff Velthouse of the Holland Police Department said that he saw multiple objects flying in the sky. He described them as white, green, and red.
Some people claimed that the objects looked like Christmas lights as they flew through the sky. Some campers also said they saw a UFO sucking freshwater using a strange mechanism.
According to Torres, the area around Lake Michigan is regarded as a potential UFO hotspot. The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater sources in North America.
After learning about the incident, Bushong met with Michael Swords, an ufologist, to try and solve the mystery behind the objects. The two worked together to create a map gallery that depicted the movement of the UFOs.
Map of the sightings. Credit: Netflix
Despite the number of sightings, the exact nature of the UFOs is still unclear. According to a report by the Chicago Tribune in 1995, officials ruled out various objects such as gas balloons, military aircraft, and small planes.
According to Torres, he and Bushong are working together to try and solve the mystery of the incident. He said that they hope that the public will help them by watching the documentary, which will feature interviews with the ufologist and the people who witnessed the incident. He believes that if the objects were carrying alien life forms, they would have visited Earth to study human life.
During one of the tests, Nikola Tesla said that he was strange receiving radio signals coming from space. Tesla believed that someone was attempting to communicate with us through numbers since they’re a universal language. In later years, Tesla recounted his experience stating that a strange feeling was growing on him that he was the first to have been contacted by the extra-terrestrials.
NOTE PETER2011:
Black Knight satellite conspiracy theory
There is something I don't understand. This black, thirteen thousand old satellite has been orbiting our Earth for centuries. No space travel nation has dared to visit this unknown spacecraft. Either they know who this ancient satellite belongs to and have been in contact with its creators for years, or they are afraid and it is a satellite that has to keep an eye on us . Are we prisoners on our own planet and only allowed to take space steps with their approval? I think it's worth a moment to think why all the world nations leave that satellite untouched..
Astronomers Have Just Seen the Most Distant Galaxy Ever Seen, but There’s a Problem!
The distances that prevail in the gigantic expanses of space often exceed our imagination. Sometimes some structures of the cosmos are so far away from us that even the light needs billions of years before it reaches our terrestrial field of view. Recently, experts were able to detect one of the most distant, and therefore oldest, galaxies in existence, though this spectacular discovery is still accompanied by some big questions. Why this is so, and what we have found out so far about this remote collection of stars, we reveal to you in today's video!
See Artemis 1's Orion spacecraft and Earth in stunning view from space
NASA's Orion spacecraft has captured imagery of Earth and itself during its trip to the moon on Nov. 16, 2022.
The red planet has been the object of scientist's fascination for a while now. In the past few years dozens of crewless spacecrafts including orbiters and rovers have been sent to Mars by the Soviet Union, United States, Europe, India, UAE and China in order to study the surface, climate and geology of the red planet. These missions have revealed a lot of strange and exciting secrets about Mars and have revolutionized the fields of astronomy and planetary science. Here are twenty most insane things NASA has found on Mars so far...
NASA shoots for the moon! $4 billion Artemis rocket that was feared 'doomed' after months of delays finally launches on a 25-day mission around the moon
The launch of the Artemis I mission marks the first step in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon by 2025
It had been due to launch in August but series of delays linked to engine fears and storms pushed back lift-off
The $4 billion Space Launch System finally blasted into space at 01:47 EST (06:47 GMT) on Wednesday
The 25-day mission sees Orion capsule fly 60 miles above the moon at its closest before returning to Earth
If successful, NASA will send Artemis II on a trip around the moon as early as 2024, this time with human crew
Artemis III would see humans return to moon in 2025, possibly with first woman and/or first person of colour
Third time became the charm for NASA's attempt to launch the Artemis I mission - the rocket was successfully launched just before 2.00am EST (7:00am GMT) Wednesday morning on a 25-day mission around the moon.
The world's most powerful rocket took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after NASA engineers quashed two earlier attempts at lift off.
Artemis sees an uncrewed Orion capsule circle the Earth's natural satellite and return to our planet after a 1.3 miIlion-mile voyage.
This is a historic launch that signals the first stage of the US space agency's goal to return people to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.
If successful, the mission will be followed by a human trip around the moon in 2024 and could lead to the first woman and first person of colour following in Neil Armstrong's footsteps the year after.
However, after enduring fuel leak concerns, engine issues and escaping the clutches of not one but two hurricanes, the $4 billion (£3.5 billion) Space Launch System (SLS) has finally blasted into orbit.
Third time became the charm for NASA 's attempt to launch the Artemis I mission - the rocket was successfully launched just before 2.00am EST Wednesday morning on a 25-day mission around the moon
Artemis is a historic launch that signals the first stage of NASA's goal to return people to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century
The plan is to return humans to the moon on Artemis III by 2025 and ultimately to build a permanent lunar outpost with a view to exploring deeper into the cosmos
The stumbling block to this has been the numerous delays NASA's new mega moon rocket has faced, with its maiden launch date repeatedly pushed back since August
Space fans gather to watch as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from launch pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
Despite its ultimate success, this launch was not without drama, as in the final few hours before lift-off, a 'red team' of engineers was sent out to the launch pad to tighten some bolts that would prevent a fuel leak
Despite its ultimate success, this launch was not without drama, as in the final few hours before lift-off, a 'red team' of engineers was sent out to the launch pad to tighten some bolts and stop a fuel leak.
However, at 01:47 EST (06:47 GMT), the rocket's four main R-25 engines and two boosters exploded into life, pushing the 32-storey rocket into the sky over Florida with 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
'We rise together, back to the moon and beyond,' said NASA's official commentator as the rocket took off.
About ten minutes later, the engines of the SLS rocket powered off and the core stage separated, as Artemis entered the Earth's orbit.
Then, at 03:42 (08:42 GMT), NASA announced that Orion had completed its 20-minute 'trans-lunar injection manoeuvre' that accelerated it to more than 22,600 mph (36,370 kph) and propelled it towards the moon.
Artemis' launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told her cheering colleagues: 'You are part of a first – it doesn't come along very often, once in a career, maybe.
'We are all part of something incredibly special: the first launch of Artemis. The first step in returning our country to the moon and on to Mars. What you have done today will inspire generations to come.'
Ms Blackwell-Thompson added in a statement: 'On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation who have worked to bring this hardware together to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you.'
NASA is due to release breathtaking images taken of Earth from the Orion spacecraft at about 10am local time (3pm GMT).
At 03:42 (08:42 GMT), NASA announced that Orion had completed its 20-minute 'trans-lunar injection manoeuvre' that accelerated it to more than 22,600 mph (36,370 kph) and propelled it towards the moon
Artemis' launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said: 'On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation who have worked to bring this hardware together to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you'
NASA's new mega moon rocket was dogged by a multitude of delays that repeatedly pushed back its historic maiden launch
After enduring fuel leak concerns, engine issues and escaping the clutches of not one but two hurricanes, the $4 billion (£3.5 billion) Space Launch System (SLS) has finally blasted into orbit
Artemis sees an Orion spacecraft circle the Earth's natural satellite and return to our planet after a 1.3 miIlion-mile voyage
An estimated 100,000 people gathered along the beaches and roads outside the Kennedy Space Center to witness lift-off early this morning.
This included 55-year-old Todd Garland, who drove 900 miles from Frankfurt, Kentucky to Cocoa Beach.
Wearing an Artemis T-shirt, he told AFP: 'This has been an experience I've looked forward to all my life.
'My first memory is my mother waking me up at two-years-old to watch the Moon landing and I've always wanted to see a launch ever since, and now I have.'
Kerry Warner, 59, a grandmother and semi-retired educator who lives in Florida, added the launch was 'part of America and what America is all about.'
Looking forward, NASA's plan is to return human boots to the moon on Artemis III by 2025 and ultimately to build a permanent lunar outpost with a view to exploring deeper into the cosmos.
It would be the first time people have walked on the moon since 1972.
Providing it is all successful, another flight is due to follow in 2024 – this time with astronauts on board – before human boots once again grace the lunar surface a year later as part of NASA's ambitious $93 billion (£63 billion) Artemis programme.
Here MailOnline answers everything you need to know about the Artemis I mission, including how you can track the flight live.
How can I follow Artemis?
An online tool is allowing people to monitor the Orion spacecraft as it travels to the moon and back again during the 25-day voyage.
The Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) provides imagery, data and all the latest news about the launch, and lets space fans track it in real-time.
Data collected by sensors on Orion and sent to the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is used to provide real-time information - like distance from Earth and the moon - about the mission.
Tracking: The US space agency has revealed a way for the public to track the Orion spacecraft in real time. The Artemis Real-time Orbit Website (AROW) will provide imagery, data and all the latest news
NASA also reveled that it will make Orion's location data freely available for 'data lovers, artists, and creatives to make their own tracking app, data visualisation, or anything else they envision'
NASA also revealed that it will make Orion's location data freely available for 'data lovers, artists, and creatives to make their own tracking app, data visualisation, or anything else they envision.'
It added that while AROW was developed for the upcoming Artemis missions, it may use the same technology to offer visualisations of other space missions in the future.
Britain has an involvement in tracking Artemis I - the Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall will track the uncrewed Orion capsule and provide communications support for the mission.
Goonhilly is the world's only commercial deep space ground station. In 1969 the site was responsible for distributing live satellite feeds of the Apollo moon landing to people around the world.
Its GHY-6 deep space antenna will receive radio signals from the spacecraft over the six-week duration of its mission.
What does the mission involve?
Named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology, Artemis signifies the modern incarnation of the US space agency's Apollo programme, which sent astronauts to the moon for the first time.
At 322ft (98m) — rising 23 storeys above the launch-pad at Cape Canaveral — the rocket is slightly shorter than the Apollo Saturn V that took astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.
However, its four RS-25 engines (the same as those used on the Space Shuttle), powered by both solid and liquid fuel, provide greater thrust and a far higher top speed of up to 24,500 mph. (The Saturn V rockets used only liquid fuel because the technology had not yet advanced sufficiently for anything else).
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will carry the Orion capsule to space for its 25-and-a-half day journey around the moon and then a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on December 11
The Artemis 1 mission will see an uncrewed Orion spacecraft circle the moon and return to Earth after a 25-day, 1.3 miIlion-mile voyage
It needs that power to push a large spacecraft out of low-Earth orbit to the moon some 240,000 miles away.
The journey takes a few days and Orion will get as close as 60 miles (100km) from the lunar surface before firing its thrusters to move into orbit up to 40,000 miles (64,000km) away.
Ten shoebox-size secondary payloads, called CubeSats, are hitching a ride to space on Artemis I, while several other investigations are flying inside the Orion spacecraft during the flight test.
Each of the payloads will perform science and technology experiments in deep space, expanding our understanding of lunar science, technology developments, and deep space radiation.
During re-entry, Orion will emerge into the Earth's atmosphere at 25,000mph before splashing down off the California coast.
Artemis I is designed to show that the SLS rocket and Orion capsule are ready to carry astronauts for Artemis II, and ultimately the Artemis III mission to return humans to the moon.
It would mark the first time people have set foot on the lunar surface since December 1972, when the American astronaut Gene Cernan scratched his young daughter's initials in the dust next to his footprints before heading home.
ARTEMIS I MISSION: SOME OF THE ITEMS ON THE PACKING LIST
245 x Silver Snoopy pins
1 x Snoopy Zero G Indicator
500 x Artemis 'Medallion' gold seal stickers for certificates
2,775 x Artemis I mission patches
1 x Lunar sample button (Apollo 11)
567 x American flags
1 x Artemis program rubber stamp
90 x Girl Scouts Space Science badges
1 x Written quote by Dr. Maria Zuber
1 x World Space Week lapel pin
1 x Sycamore Tree seeds
1 x USB drive (images, drawings, poems of space by citizens and students)
1 x Dead Sea pebble
1 x Wrapped pen nib & Peanuts comic strip
1x National Air and Space Museum – Apollo 8 Commemorative Medallion
Are there astronauts on board?
No — unless you count Shaun the Sheep, Snoopy or the dummy Commander Moonikin as crew.
This mission has no humans on board, but as long as everything goes smoothly and the Orion capsule splashes down to Earth as planned, then the hope is that a four-person crew can make a trip around the moon in 2024.
Instead of humans, a trio of human-sized test dummies stand in for the crew in the Orion capsule, their bodies swarming with sensors to measure radiation and vibration.
In the commander's seat is Commander Moonikin Campos — a tribute to electrical engineer Arturo Campos, who played a key role in getting the troubled Apollo 13 mission safely back to Earth in 1970.
Clad in a new Orion Crew Survival System spacesuit, the mannequin is providing NASA scientists with important data on what humans experience during a trip to the moon.
Two other mannequins named Helga and Zohar sit in the Orion's passenger seats, and they reflect the US space agency's determination that a manned flight to the moon will soon include a woman.
The dummies have torsos made of materials that mimic a woman's softer tissue, organs and bones.
They are fitted with some 5,600 sensors and 34 radiation detectors to measure the amount of radiation exposure they encounter during the mission.
One is wearing a radiation protection vest and the other isn't.
Scientists say that different organs have different susceptibility to space radiation, and understanding that will be essential to long-term space exploration.
Women generally have a higher risk of developing cancer, since they have more radiation-sensitive organs such as ovaries and breast tissue.
NASA has also revealed an Official Flight Kit list of items it sent on Artemis I, including 245 silver Snoopy pins, a Shaun the Sheep mascot, a Dead Sea pebble and 567 American flags.
Ahead of the launch of Artemis I, the US space agency revealed a list of items it was sending on the SLS rocket on its journey to the Earth's only natural satellite. They include a Shaun the Sheep mascot (pictured) and 567 American flags
The Artemis I launch paves the way for a future human mission to the Moon.
Credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty
NASA’s huge new rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1.47 a.m. Eastern time today, achieving a major milestone in the agency’s plans to send astronauts back to the Moon.
“We rise together, back to the Moon and beyond,” said NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail as the mighty rocket thundered into the night skies above Cape Canaveral.
The launch put an uncrewed astronaut capsule, called Orion, into Earth orbit and towards a planned course to fly past the Moon and back over the next 26 days. The flight, known as Artemis I, will test whether the rocket and capsule will be able to transport humans safely, while carrying a number of scientific experiments.
This is the first time in half a century that NASA has flown a rocket powerful enough to send humans beyond low Earth orbit.
The flight was delayed after two attempts in late August and early September, which were cut short owing to hardware problems, including leaks of liquid hydrogen fuel. NASA then passed on a launch opportunity in late September because of an approaching hurricane, before putting it back on the launch pad, where it experienced high winds and rain from a different storm last week. NASA managers say that storm caused only minor damage to the rocket, including peeling off a strip of caulking that they say will not endanger the launch.
The delays mean that several of the small solar-powered satellites that are flying on Artemis I, which will be deployed into space to conduct research, have not had their batteries charged in more than a year. “We believe most of the secondary payloads are going to be able to power up and boot up once deployed,” says Jacob Bleacher, NASA's chief exploration scientist. “We’re just going to have to see once they get up there and released out into orbit.”
A symbolic start
For many researchers, Artemis I represents the symbolic start of a new era of US lunar exploration. NASA named this and subsequent planned flights Artemis in homage to the Apollo programme that sent 12 astronauts to the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. In Greek mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the Moon and twin sister to the Sun god Apollo.
With the Artemis programme, NASA aims to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. That will begin with a series of robotic landers starting early next year, followed by astronauts landing at the lunar south pole no earlier than 2025, and the establishment of a lunar space station and base after that. If NASA is successful, part of the historical significance of Artemis will be that sustained presence, says Teasel Muir-Harmony, a historian at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
If Artemis III lands astronauts at the lunar south pole, they will probably collect Moon rocks, as shown in this artist’s rendering.
Credit: NASA
Science will also benefit. Astronauts landing on the Moon will be studying ice hidden in the shadowed craters at the never-yet-explored lunar south pole. That means collecting Moon rocks, which the United States has not done since the last Apollo mission in 1972. Analysis of lunar rocks at the south pole could reveal secrets of the early Solar System that scientists have long been hoping to crack. “We’re dying to get down to the surface and bring those rocks back,” says Brett Denevi, a lunar researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “We’re on the precipice of something really exciting.”
But there’s a lot of uncertainty. Several US presidents previously tried to set NASA on a path to return to the Moon or send humans to Mars, but because of budget cuts and shifting priorities, the agency has not managed to take those steps until now. “There’s the scepticism and cynicism of, is this really going to happen?” Denevi says.
Back to the Moon
After the Apollo programme ended, NASA focused on building and flying the space shuttle, which operated between 1981 and 2011, and constructing and working aboard the International Space Station, which has been permanently occupied since 2000.
Space experts have been waiting for another big lunar launch for a long time. "As a child of Apollo, I never believed I’d see this," says David Parker, director of human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
“It’s making it real, that we’re going back to the Moon,” adds Chiara Ferrari-Wong, a lunar scientist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “It’s all feeling very real now.”
Artemis I is meant to be a basic check of engineering systems. “If history is any indicator, it doesn’t have to be a flawless flight,” Muir-Harmony says. The equivalent flights in the Apollo programme revealed problems that needed to be fixed: for instance, Apollo 6, an uncrewed flight of the Saturn V rocket in 1968, experienced oscillations soon after launch.
During the Artemis I flight, the Orion capsule will head to what’s called a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. That will take it around 64,000 kilometres past the Moon, travelling in the opposite direction to the Moon’s orbit of Earth. Throughout the journey, mission controllers will test how the capsule responds to flying in deep space. Orion will eventually leave that orbit and head back towards Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California (see ‘Flight path’).
Source: This graphic was repurposed from this story, by Alex Witze.
If all goes well, the next launch of the rocket, in a mission known as Artemis II that will happen no earlier than 2024, will carry four astronauts around the Moon. The crewed landing, Artemis III, will follow. Each launch is estimated to cost at least US$4 billion.
But many steps remain before those flights become reality. Most significantly, the aerospace company SpaceX in Hawthorne, California — which NASA has contracted to supply a crewed lunar lander called Starship — will need to demonstrate that the giant ship is capable of carrying astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface. So far, Starship has been tested only on the ground, although it could attempt its first orbital flight in the coming months.
There’s science to be done
NASA has pledged that at least one of the two Artemis III astronauts who will step onto the lunar surface will be a woman. The pair will probably stay on the Moon for around 6.5 days, venturing out of Starship to conduct various scientific experiments, including collecting rocks.
Their exact landing site has yet to be chosen, although in August NASA announced a shortlist of 13 regions around the lunar south pole.
One spot researchers want to investigate is the largest crater on the moon, the South Pole–Aitken impact basin, created by an ancient collision. Getting rock samples from the crater would allow researchers to pinpoint when the collision occurred, thus anchoring a key point in the history of the early Solar System. Some of the potential Artemis III landing sites might contain rocks tossed out by the ancient collision.
Well before astronauts arrive, however, a host of robotic Moon missions are slated to take place. A series of landers built by US commercial companies will ferry scientific instruments and other payloads to the lunar surface. The first of these will happen no earlier than the beginning of next year, and will head to a volcanic plain in the Moon’s northern hemisphere known as Lacus Mortis, carrying experiments including several that will measure the chemistry of the lunar soil. Another, much-anticipated, delivery will be a rover that is scheduled to go to the south pole in 2024 to drill for ice.
For Ferrari-Wong, NASA’s return to the Moon represents a broader cultural touchstone that resonates with both scientists and members of the public around the world who gaze up at the Moon every night. “What I love about studying the Moon, and what’s so exciting about Artemis, is that it’s symbolic to almost everyone,” she says. “It’s also the next step to the rest of the Solar System. That’s just amazing.”
BREAKING: Large Hadron Collider Just Discovered Three New Exotic Particles
On Tuesday, the European nuclear research center CERN said that scientists using the upgraded Large Hadron Collider (LHC) had found three particles that had never been seen before.
The world’s biggest and most powerful particle collider started up again after a three-year break for improvements. Researchers can look at twenty times more collisions now that the LHC has been updated.
Researchers at CERN found a “pentaquark” and the first pair of “tetraquarks” with the help of the improved collider.
What does it mean that particles have been found?
Chris Parkes, a spokesman for the LHCb experiment, which was designed to find out what happened after the Big Bang, says that this discovery will help theorists make a unified model of exotic hadrons, the nature of which is mostly unknown.
“We are in a time of discovery that is similar to the 1950s, when a “particle zoo” of hadrons started to be found, which led to the quark model of normal hadrons in the 1960s. “We’re making ‘particle zoo 2.0,'” said Niels Tuning, who is in charge of physics at the LHCb.
A quark is an electron that can’t be broken up into smaller pieces. Hadrons, like the protons and neutrons that make up atomic nuclei, which are an important part of the universe, are made when two or three quarks come together. Before the LHC got better, it was hard to find these particles because they often broke apart quickly.
The upgraded Large Hadron Collider will run for about four years at 13.6 trillion electronvolts.
Tuning said, “The more analyses we do, the more kinds of strange hadrons we find.”
Researchers want to learn more about “dark matter,” which has never been seen or touched. CERN also wants to find out more about how the subatomic particles that make matter and antimatter are made and how they break down.
NASA's Mars Helicopters: Present, Future, and Proposed: A family portrait of Mars helicopters - Ingenuity, Sample Recovery Helicopter, and a future Mars Science Helicopter concept.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The Future of Mars Exploration Belongs to Helicopters
Even though there’s no firm date for a Mars sample return mission, the Perseverance rover is busy collecting rock samples and caching them for retrieval. We’ve known of the future Mars sample return mission for a while now, and as time goes on, we’re learning more details.
The latest development concerns helicopters. With Ingenuity’s success, NASA has decided that the sample return mission will take two helicopters.
When NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Mars’ Jezero crater, it had a passenger secured to its belly: a small rotorcraft named Ingenuity. It was the first powered, controlled extraterrestrial flight by an aircraft. (The first unpowered flight was a Soviet balloon flight on Venus as part of the Vega 1 mission in 1985.)
Ingenuity met all its goals and more. It was initially intended to perform five flights up to 90 seconds long each in 30 days. It performed well beyond that, with its 33rd flight taking place on September 24th, 2022, over 18 months since the mission landed on Mars.
The eventual Mars sample return mission will be a joint endeavour between NASA and the ESA. The mission is still being developed, and now it looks like the agencies will send not one but two helicopters.
We’ve known about this development for a while. But in a new blog post update, Bob Balaram, Chief Engineer of the Ingenuity Project, explains in more detail the advantages that helicopters bring to exploring Mars. Balaram originated the Ingenuity helicopter and guided it through its first year of operations on Mars.
Balaram compares Ingenuity’s first flight to another first—the Wright Brothers’ famous flight in North Carolina in 1903. “It was very much like another day in December 1903, here on Earth,” Balaram writes. “On Mars, it was our Wright Brothers moment – a short flight – rising a few meters into the sky, hovering briefly in the thin air, making a turn, and descending to land. A simple flight, but one that ushered in aerial mobility for exploring Mars.” The comparison is apt because Ingenuity took a tiny piece of the Wright Flyer aircraft to Mars.
Ingenuity has been on Mars for over 500 sols now when its mission was originally intended to last only 30 days. That type of success would embolden any engineer, and now NASA wants to build on that success. Both future helicopters will be similar to Ingenuity, but there will be some key differences. They won’t be there to test technology; they’ll have duties to perform.
“These Sample Recovery Helicopters, with wheels instead of feet, and a small manipulator arm with a two-fingered gripper, will, if needed, carry precious sample tubes from a sample cache depot back to the Mars ascent vehicle for launch back to Earth,” Balaram wrote.
This artist’s illustration of a Mars Sample Return helicopter highlights the rotorcraft’s wheels and sample-retrieving arm. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The Mars rovers are extremely impressive machines, from Spirit and Opportunity to MSL Curiosity and Perseverance. Their performance and endurance on Mars are a testament to human capabilities. But helicopters take exploration to the next level.
Balaram talks about the 4R’s of exploration: Reach, Range, Resolution, and Robotics. “Mars helicopters are unique in their ability to reach locations otherwise inaccessible to other forms of mobility. They can fly over terrain that is simply not traversable by a wheeled rover, as shown by Ingenuity’s flight over the treacherous sand dune fields of the Seitah region in Jezero crater.
A rover’s reach is limited, but helicopters can greatly improve the reach of exploration by rovers, and it might be hard to imagine future rover missions to the planet without helicopters as part of the mission design. Helicopters can act as route-finders in advance of giving the rover travel instructions. They can examine areas for sampling desirability. They can hover next to features like crater walls and even explore lava tubes.
Helicopters can open up other regions of Mars for surface exploration, too. Rovers are heavy, and engineers are very cautious about where they land them, cognizant of the so-calledMars Curse. But much-lighter helicopters could land elsewhere. “Because of their low weight, entry capsules carrying a helicopter can be targeted to even the highlands of Mars, with the helicopters flying out the final leg of the entry, descent, and landing journey. For the first time, we can have true global access to the red planet,” Balaram writes.
This image shows the landing locations of NASA’s Mars missions. None have explored the planet’s southern highlands, which have a much thicker crust and are higher in elevation by up to 3 km. The striking difference between the southern highlands and the northern hemisphere is called the Martian Dichotomy. Image Credit: By NASA/JPL-Caltech – https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA24320.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97863997
Ingenuity had a very limited range. As a test vehicle, increasing its range wasn’t a priority. But future Mars helicopters could have a much greater range. “While Ingenuity as a technology demonstration was limited to a flight capability of about 1 km per sol, future larger helicopters could have the endurance to allow 10’s of km per sol traverses,” Balaram writes. “With that kind of capability, large-scale, close-up exploration of a wide area on Mars becomes possible.” Balaram says that helicopters could open Valles Marineris up for exploration. Even the planet’s ice caps could be within reach one day.
Helicopters will improve image resolution, too. The MRO has a powerful camera system that has imaged almost the entire surface of Mars. It’s led to all kinds of discoveries on Mars and has helped choose landing spots for surface missions. But a much cheaper, less sophisticated camera on a helicopter can image specific areas of Mars’ surface with higher resolution than MRO or any other orbiter. And for much cheaper.
Balaram’s fourth R is robotics. Robotic technology is advancing daily, and increased robotics on a Mars helicopter means greater autonomy and mobility. If NASA ever develops a helicopter that can explore lava tubes, for example, robotics will have to be up to the task. The communications delay between Earth and Mars prohibits the type of fine control needed for that type of exploration.
“High-performance processors enabling autonomy, unprecedented mobility through both flying and driving, and a true manipulation capability with a robot hand can enable much more than sample tube retrieval,” Balaram wrote.
As if this isn’t impressive enough, engineers are already developing a more advanced craft for future exploration. “A more capable Mars Science Helicopter with the ability to carry almost 5 kg of science payloads is also in early conceptual and design stages,” wrote Balaram.
The NASA MSH white paper considered two rotorcraft concepts; a coaxial design and a larger hexacopter design. Image Credit: NASA.
The white paper outlines two potential designs for the MSH: a coaxial and a hexacopter. The coaxial is based on Ingenuity, known as the Mars Helicopter Technology Design (MHTD.) The hexacopter is larger, about 30 kg, compared to 4.6 kg for the MHTD. Both have the same approximate range, 10 km laterally and 2 km vertically, but the hexacopter can carry a much larger payload, about 5 kg compared to about 1.3 kg.
The white paper identifies key science objectives that can be uniquely addressed by rotorcraft on Mars.
This image from the white paper shows six science objectives. The coloured dots represent rotorcraft capabilities that address each objective. Green is for range, purple is access to hazardous terrain, and blue is access to the planetary boundary layer. The planetary boundary layer is an atmospheric boundary layer which extends ~5–10 km above the surface. It’s a previously inaccessible region of Mars that controls interactions between the atmosphere and the surface. Image Credit: NASA
The white paper also identifies science payloads and specific locations where the MSH could meet the scientific objectives. These are broken down into three mission concepts, with each one having different instruments. They are Clays and Astrobiology, Ice-Exposing Scarps, and Crustal Magnetism. These three objectives are well-known to Universe Today readers.
The instruments include sampling arms and microdrills, infrared imagers, neutron spectrometers, a meteorology package, a magnetometer, and a magnetometer.
This image from the white paper illustrates one of the mission concepts considered for a future MSH. The goals are to determine the relationship between recent climate change on Mars and the proposed Mars ice ages. It also includes mapping the horizontal and vertical distribution of accessible, near-surface water ice. Image Credit: NASA.
White papers are fascinating because they’re a window into all of the thinking that goes into an eventual mission design. As far as the authors are concerned, helicopters will likely be a mainstay of Mars missions. “The coaxial vehicle is sufficiently low-mass and low-volume that it should be considered in all future launch opportunities to Mars’ surface,” the paper says in its conclusion. “We recommend all possibilities be considered.”
This is an exciting time in Mars exploration. It’s hard to predict the effect rotorcraft will have on future missions. Maybe one day, a Mars mission will contain a stationary home base and multiple rotorcraft.
Maybe in the future, we won’t even send rovers to Mars.
Researchers developed a new type of solar energy harvesting system that breaks the efficiency record of all existing technologies.
(CREDIT: Creative Commons)
Photovoltaic cells which convert sunlight directly into energy have made much progress. Yet with all the research, history and science behind it, there are limits to how much solar power can be harvested and used – as its generation is restricted only to the daylight.
Bo Zhao, Kalsi Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, and his doctoral student, Sina Jafari Ghalekohneh, have created new architecture that improves the efficiency of solar energy harvesting to the thermodynamic limit.
(CREDIT: University of Houston)
University of Houston professor Bo Zhao is continuing the historic quest, reporting on a new type of solar energy harvesting system that breaks the efficiency record of all existing technologies. And no less important, it clears the way to use solar power 24/7.
(a) Illustration of traditional STPV and (b) nonreciprocal STPV. The absorber of traditional STPV has back radiation towards the sun. In nonreciprocal STPV, the back emission from the intermediate layer is suppressed, and more incoming energy is directed towards the cell. The nonreciprocal behavior of the intermediate layer can be made wavelength selective.
Traditional solar thermophotovoltaics rely on an intermediate layer to tailor sunlight for better efficiency. The front side of the intermediate layer (the side facing the sun) is designed to absorb all photons coming from the sun. In this way, solar energy is converted to thermal energy of the intermediate layer and elevates the temperature of the intermediate layer.
But the thermodynamic efficiency limit of STPVs, which has long been understood to be the blackbody limit (85.4%), is still far lower than the Landsberg limit (93.3%), the ultimate efficiency limit for solar energy harvesting.
Zhao explained, “In this work, we show that the efficiency deficit is caused by the inevitable back emission of the intermediate layer towards the sun resulting from the reciprocity of the system. We propose nonreciprocal STPV systems that utilize an intermediate layer with nonreciprocal radiative properties. Such a nonreciprocal intermediate layer can substantially suppress its back emission to the sun and funnel more photon flux towards the cell.”
“We show that, with such improvement, the nonreciprocal STPV system can reach the Landsberg limit, and practical STPV systems with single-junction photovoltaic cells can also experience a significant efficiency boost,” he added.
Besides improved efficiency, STPVs promise compactness and dispatchability (electricity that can be programmed on demand based on market needs).
In one important application scenario, STPVs can be coupled with an economical thermal energy storage unit to generate electricity 24/7.
“Our work highlights the great potential of nonreciprocal thermal photonic components in energy applications. The proposed system offers a new pathway to improve the performance of STPV systems significantly. It may pave the way for nonreciprocal systems to be implemented in practical STPV systems currently used in power plants,” said Zhao.
***
As an intellectual exercise this is an elegant work showing where to look for more efficiency. This is a strong case for nonreciprocal solar theromophotovoltaics. But they haven’t been designed and engineered yet.
Perhaps this work will trigger some progress. 93.+% is definitely something to keep looking for. And that “economical thermal energy storage unit” will be needing some work as well.
What Would Asteroid Mining do to the World's Economy?
About a decade ago, the prospect of “asteroid mining” saw a massive surge in interest. This was due largely to the rise of the commercial space sector and the belief that harvesting resources from space would soon become a reality. What had been the stuff of science fiction and futurist predictions was now being talked about seriously in the business sector, with many claiming that the future of resource exploitation and manufacturing lay in space. Since then, there’s been a bit of a cooling off as these hopes failed to materialize in the expected timeframe.
Nevertheless, there is little doubt that a human presence in space will entail harvesting resources from Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and beyond. In a recent paper, a team of researchers from the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, examined the potential impact of asteroid mining on the global economy. Based on their detailed assessment that includes market forces, environmental impact, asteroid and mineral type, and the scale of mining, they show how asteroid mining can be done in a way that is consistent with the Outer Space Treaty (i.e., for the benefit of all humanity).
The research was conducted by He Sun, Junfeng Zhu, and Yipeng Xu, three researchers from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham. They are part of a research group known as GemAI (Group for Equity Modeling with AI) that explores the intersection between mathematical modeling, artificial intelligence, and the social sciences (largely focused on equity issues). The paper describing their findings is currently being reviewed for publication in the Annual Review of Sociology.
Simply put, the prospect of asteroid mining comes down to resources and the continued growth of human civilization. There are many reasons cited for this, from ensuring the survival of humanity and life on Earth (having a “backup location” or becoming “multiplanetary”) to fulfilling a basic and ancestral need to explore and “wander.” Then there’s the idea of preventing ecological collapse here on Earth through mining and manufacturing or ushering in a “post-scarcity” society by relocating all of our resource extraction and manufacturing to near-Earth space, Cislunar space, and beyond.
Carl Sagan, the late and great physicist, author, and science communicator, summarized these beautifully and related how the two might be intertwined at the intuitive level. As he put it:
“The open road still softly calls, like a nearly forgotten song of childhood. We invest far-off places with a certain romance. The appeal, I suspect, has been meticulously crafted by natural selection as an essential element in our survival. Long summers, mild winters, rich harvests, plentiful game—none of them lasts forever. Your own life, or your band’s, or even your species’ might be owed to a restless few—drawn, by a craving they can hardly articulate or understand, to undiscovered lands and new worlds.”
From a material perspective, the rationale is that human growth is an exponential phenomenon that has been taking place ever since Upper Paleolithic Era (ca. 50,000 to 12,000 years ago). The period that has since followed – the Holocene – has seen the rapid proliferation of human societies and the growth of their impact on environmental systems worldwide. The trend has become so acute that by the mid-20th century, geologists began referring to the current epoch as the Anthropocene, where humanity is the single-greatest driver of environmental changes on the planet.
The belief that humanity’s future lies in space commands a large following today, thanks in no small part to the rise of the commercial space (aka. NewSpace) industry. Another factor is the continued pressure to ensure that there are enough resources to see to the needs of a growing population, coupled with the effects of climate change. As we approach the mid-21st century, the greatest challenge will be providing for an estimated 10 billion people worldwide amid the impacts of climate change. The argument goes that if our future is to be assured, then off-world resources must be harnessed.
Mining asteroids might be necessary for humanity to expand into the Solar System. But what effect would asteroid mining have on the world’s economy? Credit: ESA.
The demand for minerals, He Sun explained to Universe Today via email, is a major factor in ensuring resource abundance:
“Due to the fact that the total amount of minerals on the planet is finite, continuous advances in resource recovery technology cannot fundamentally solve the problem of mineral depletion. In this context, the significance of asteroid mining is becoming more apparent. Large asteroid mining companies (including Space X, Blue Origin, and others that already have a presence in this area) could create hostile competition. To prevent the disorderly expansion of capital and related industrial monopoly, it is necessary for the United Nations to establish relevant regulations.“
To prevent asteroid mining and the future space economy from becoming a “Wild West”-type situation, there are many calls for laws to be drafted that could prevent cutthroat competition and ensure that mineral wealth is used for the good of all humanity. This is in keeping with the Outer Space Treaty signed in 1967 between the U.S., the Soviet Union, and the U.K., which were the most influential players in space at the time. The Treaty has since been signed and ratified by 112 countries (as of February 2022) and remains the most important piece of space legislation ever passed.
According to NASA, the Outer Space Treaty is the inspiration behind the Artemis Accords, a set of principles and best practices governing international partnerships to advance the Artemis Program. As stated in Section I – Purpose and Scope, the Accords are “intended to increase the safety of operations, reduce uncertainty, and promote the sustainable and beneficial use of space for all humankind.” The Treaty, says He Sun, also served as a background to the team’s analysis:
“On the one hand, it reflects the concern of the United Nations about asteroid mining (the important value of asteroid rare earth metals, the growing space power of companies and national space agencies),” he said. “On the other hand, our paper provides [the UN] with improved programmatic policies to prevent the negative effects on global equity of possible scenarios such as monopolies, resource curses, etc.”
NASA’s mission to asteroid 16 Psyche has been delayed. Now a review panel is examining the delay. Credit: Maxar/ASU/P. Rubin/NASA/JPL-Caltech
He Sun and his colleagues began their analysis with an appraisal of the global situation and space exploration capabilities of various countries. They then focused on creating a model that would measure the impact of space mining on global equity and formulating policies that would ensure (as much as possible) that all people would share the benefits. The first step was to calculate a Unified Equity Index (UEI) for each country, which consisted of an analysis of six factors: economic, education, science and technology, health, environment, and social stability.
In short, they considered how a country’s UEI would be affected by things like wealth inequality (the Gini coefficient), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment, the average level of education, the average number of patents and research expenditures, life expectancy and health outcomes, environmental issues, and crime rates. From this, they obtained an Equity Index for the entire world based on the entropy of each country’s UEI. This brought them to step two, where the impact of asteroid mining was simulated based on the types of asteroids being mined.
This was based on three broad categories scientists use to classify asteroids: C-type, S-type, and M-type. Whereas C-type (chondrite) asteroids – the most common – contain large amounts of carbon and are composed mainly of clay and silicate rocks, S-type (“stony”) asteroids are composed of silicate minerals and metal (nickel-iron), and M-types are mostly metallic. They also considered which entities were involved (private, national, international) and changing mineral values over time. Said He Sun:
“In addition, we define the impact of mining and equity through a gray correlation matrix derived from mineral development data for a typical country (the United States) over the last 50 years with data from these indicators. This gray correlation matrix is used as a bridge to future global equity impacts of asteroid mining. We use these gray correlation coefficients, the scale of future plans for asteroid mining for each entity, and the change in equity for 20 countries over time to predict the impact of asteroid mining on global equity in the coming decades.”
Asteroid mining concept. Credit: NASA/Denise Watt
In particular, their model looked at how the value of minerals would change between 2025 and 2085, coinciding with the expected growth of asteroid mining in this century. Ultimately, their model showed that without regulation, the gap between space-competitive entities (countries with space programs, companies with advanced space capability) and other entities would increase profoundly, and equity within nations would become graver. To this end, they made some specific recommendations:
“We suggest the UN add the Mining Information Policy, Mineral Legacy Policy, Mutual Assistance Policy, Antitrust Policy, and Transaction Guidance Policy to the updated version of the Outer Space Treaty,” said He Sun. “There are unimaginably tremendous resources in space, and if we do not exploit and distribute them wisely, the consequence will be severe.”
Of course, He Sun and his colleagues make these recommendations with the caveat that asteroid mining is still a hypothetical venture, mainly because the associated costs are still prohibitive. A lot of work needs to be done before it can become an industry that promises to relocate resource extraction to space and usher in a “post-scarcity” economy. This includes a further reduction in launch costs, the creation of infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and wherever else we intend to mine, and the ability to process minerals in space cheaply.
Nevertheless, there is little doubt that the prospect of asteroid mining is approaching, and multiple legal, ethical, and economic questions need to be addressed beforehand. Like many aspects of humanity’s future in space, these efforts are intended to prevent a “free-for-all” that could turn space into the next scramble for resources, territory, and imperial ventures. If space is to be for all humankind, we need to take the necessary steps to make sure it’s not claimed and exploited for the benefit of the few.
Addendum:
Yipeng Xu was the Chinese researcher to name an exoplanet discovered by Chinese astronomers and its host star: “Wangshu” and “Xihe,” which mean “moon goddess” and “sun goddess” in Chinese mythology (respectively). Yipeng recently researched weak gravitational lensing and galaxy morphology using deep learning models at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Is Earth being watched? Can alien civilizations see Earth?
Past, present and future stars that can see Earth as a transiting exoplanet is a new paper by Dr. Jackie Faherty and Dr. Lisa Kalteneggar.
It reports that "In the search for life in the cosmos, transiting exoplanets are currently our best targets. With thousands already detected, our search is entering a new era of discovery with upcoming large telescopes that will look for signs of ‘life’ in the atmospheres of transiting worlds.
Previous work has explored the zone from which Earth would be visible while transiting the Sun1–4. However, these studies considered only the current position of stars, and did not include their changing vantage point over time.
Here we report that 1,715 stars within 100 parsecs from the Sun are in the right position to have spotted life on a transiting Earth since early human civilization.
With 1715 stars in the right position to have spotted life on a transiting Earth it is not unthinkable that we as a type 1 civilization are being watched by far more advanced alien civilizations Type 2 and Type 3 who maybe use these stars to monitor planet Earth for some reason without the possibility to discover them.
That we have not yet been able to make contact with the aliens may be due to the idea that radio waves are outdated technology, which is probably right. Just think about the idea that we are being watched without being able to interact with the aliens, because we yet discovered the preferred means of communications among the alien civilizations Type 2 and type 3.
This UFO video was just posted on Reddit recently. It shows a satellite flying across the sky and around it a really fast unidentified flying object. Filmed with 14 inch dobsonian sky watcher telescope (400mm/1900mm).
What do you think about this UFO sighting? Please leave a comment bellow!
"It's not an airplane, what is this? There is three of them?," the fighter pilot radioed to the control tower.
"There's even more."
He continued: "Look! One passed over here, radial 100 to 150, right in front of Mike-Bravo-Zulu. Got it? The guy is after it."
Moment of Contact includes the famous encounter along with other Brazilian UFO incidents - focused on an alleged crash in Varginha.
It is claimed in 1996 a number of locals in town witnessed the crash and encountered a 4ft tall alien creature with brown oily skin and huge red eyes.
Brazil appears to have had a rich history of UFO encounters - including a saucer-shaped object allegedly being photographed in January 1958.
The pictures were reportedly taken by crewman Almiro Baraúna from navy training ship Almirante Saldanha sailing near Trindade Island in the Atlantic.
Photos appear to show the the shape - which appears to be flying saucer - moving over the sea.
US investigators deemed the photos to be a hoax as part of controversial study Project Blue Book.
The Night of the UFOs however stands out due to the scale of the encounter and the number and the quality of the witnesses.
It was even addressed at a press conference in which pilots admitted they had no idea what they had witnessed.
Whether they were trying to interact with me, I don't know. What I do know is that they behaved intelligently
Sergeant Sergio Mota Da Silva
"Our goal was precisely to approach and identify," said air force pilot Lt. Kleber Caldas Marinho.
"But we couldn't even get close, much less identify."
He described closing in on the target "which stopped moving towards me and started to climb".
"I kept following the contact until about 30,000 feet, when I lost radar contact and was left with just visual contact," he said.
The incident on May 19, 1986, saw UFOs of up to 100 metres in diameter spotted by civilian and military witnesses in four states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Goiá.
It is even discussed by the Brazilian government and was the centrepiece was a new hearing on UFOs held by Brazil in June.
Pilots found themselves looking at objects in front of them that didn’t appear on their aircraft radars – and sometimes the other way around - as the objects played "cat and mouse" with them.
Photos taken from a Brazilian vessel in 1958 allegedly showing a UFO
The saucer-shaped object was snapped by Almiro Baraúna
The images were quickly dismissed by US investigators as a 'hoax'
The first signs of anything unusual were reported by Brazilian air force air traffic controller, Sergeant Sergio Mota da Silva.
He spotted a light in the sky from the control tower of an airport near the city of Sao Paulo.
“It doesn't go up or down, it doesn't go to the left or to the right, it's just standing there”, he said
Mota asked controllers at Sao Paolo’s international airport if any planes were heading to his airfield, to which they replied there weren’t.
At one point he said he dimmed the lights on the airport's runway, making the objects come towards the control tower and then, when he turned up the brightness, they moved away.
"Whether they were trying to interact with me, I don't know. What I do know is that they behaved intelligently," he told the BBC.
Around 8pm around 2000 cadets and officers from an air force training school in the same area, reported spotted the lights.
Then an hour later, a plane piloted by the president of aircraft maker Embraer reported several objects in the sky as it landed at the same airport.
The lights in the sky were also seen from two passenger planes, including one travelling in the interior of Brazil.
The air force then swung into action and scrambled its fighters to intercept the objects – but it was not a simple task as the pilots found themselves disoriented by what was happening.
"Sometimes, the pilots had visual contact with the targets, but the radars did not register anything,” said Mota.
“Other times, the radars even picked up the presence of objects, but the pilots could not see them.”
Initially three planes were sent up, including a Mirage F-103, which took off at just before 11pm with Captain Armindo Sousa Viriato at the controls.
Soon his high performance warplane hit 1,000mph but as he closed in on the UFO, it accelerated to a speed he calculated as 15 times the speed of sound, or 11,500mph.
Captain Armindo Sousa Viriato said one of the objects was travelling at 11,500mphCredit: BBC
"If there is a plane that can develop that speed, I don't know of it," he said in an interview a few years later.
Meanwhile, the incredible events taking place in the sky had not gone unnoticed on the ground.
Photographer Adenir Britto was working the night shift in the office of his newspaper when he got a tip off that there was a "flying saucer" over head.
Initially assuming to be a prank, he went outside with a reporter and to his amazement saw the objects and began shooting.
“It was a unique experience in my career. I never saw anything like it again," he said.
"Until then, I didn't care whether or not I believed in UFOs.
"But I came to have a different view of this mysterious world. There was no way I could not change my opinion, after all I had the privilege of being an eyewitness and photographic witness."
In a further twist, two air force officers accompanied by the American UFO researcher James J. Hurtak, turned up at the newspaper about a month later.
They demanded the editor showed them the negatives of the photos on the pretext they wanted them to be analysed by NASA. They have have never been seen since
The incredible events soon seeped out and began to receive extensive coverage in the media.
That prompted air force minister Brigadier Octávio Júlio Moreira Lima to hold an unprecedented press conference at which the pilots described what happened.
"I was warned by ground control there were several contacts ahead of me approximately thirty kilometers away," said one.
“I was also warned that contacts were approaching from behind and they came on until they were three kilometres behind me. I had to dive and as I did, the contacts started to climb.”
Ground controllers told another pilot that thirteen UFOs were pursuing him, six on one side of him and seven on the other, another said.
But Octávio Moreira Lima was forced to admit: "We have no explanation.”
A 2009 an air force report into the 'Night of the UFOs' concluded that its top brass “are of the opinion that the phenomena are solid and reflect, in a certain way, intelligence”.
This was due “to the ability to follow and maintain a distance from observers, as well as to fly in formation”.
Moment of Contact is out now and available to watch on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, Google Play and more.
Photographer Adenir Britto captured this image of the objects in the sky
Credit: BBC
Another one Britto's picturesCredit: Governo Do Brazil
Brazilian fighter pilots UFO case: Cockpit audio from an alleged UFO encounter has been released
According to a report by The Sun, a group of Brazilian fighter pilots were able to chase down several unidentified objects flying in the sky in 1996.
James Fox’s new film “Moment of Contact” features cockpit audio from the incident that happened in the plane. The director released a clip of the wild exchange.
One of the pilots reportedly exclaimed, “It’s not an airplane!” as he and his companions saw multiple objects flying in the sky.
It should be noted that this incident, which took place in Brazil, isn’t a crackpot conspiracy theory. It’s actually quite common for paranormal encounters to happen.
The Brazilian military confirmed that there was an exchange between pilots and an unidentified aircraft in the sky. However, according to The Sun, the photo taken from the water looks incredibly fake.
The audio of the cockpit voice raises a lot of questions. What was in the sky that the pilots didn’t see?
Since the public has not been informed about what the object was, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever know what it was. Also, aliens aren’t exactly little green creatures. As for UFOs, there is currently no proof that they are flying around the sky in the form of green aliens.
There have been many unexplainable events. The government has claimed that the objects were Chinese drones, but it’s not clear if this is the case.
The public’s interest in the UFO and UAP phenomena has never been higher. As more information about these phenomena is revealed, more questions will be asked.
One of the pilots excitedly stated, “It’s not an airplane” as they witnessed multiple objects in the sky. You can check out the brief audio clip below. It’s nutty.
It’s worth noting that this incident in 1996 in Brazil isn’t some crackpot conspiracy idea, which happens all the time with the paranormal.
The Brazilian military confirmed there was some kind of exchange in the sky with unknown craft.
Eureka! A Parallel Universe Discovered Sitting In Plain Sight
Many theoretical physicists hypothesize the fact that tiny particles like electrons and photons don’t have one set place in the universe is evidence that there are many parallel universes. But we don’t have any conclusive evidence of the multiverse… Or, do we? The answer might be staring at us all this while in plain sight.
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We Keep Finding Very Strange Things from Our Past!
Our history books have had their day! Archaeologists keep coming across inexplicable artifacts that shake the official picture of human development to its foundations… or has your history teacher never told you something about antique flying machines or ancient laptops? Well, listen up and dive into the greatest mysteries of the past with us!
The truth isn’t out just yet, but UFO enthusiasts shouldn’t get their hopes up that those “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP) – long known as UFOs – are of extraterrestrial origin. A declassified version of the latest U.S. defense-intelligence report is expected to be released to the public this month, but the government’s official conclusions are that any of the unexplained sightings are likely a mix of foreign surveillance, includingdrones, and airborne clutter such as weather balloons.
Such conclusions aren’t all that different from the June 2021 Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). It noted that UAP probably lacks a single explanation, and suggested that when individual UAP incidents are resolved these would fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, USG or industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, and a catchall “other” bin.
“There is no single explanation that addresses the majority of UAP reports,” U.S. Defense Department spokesperson Sue Gough said via a statement. “We are collecting as much data as we can, following the data where it leads, and will share our findings whenever possible.”
WHAT IS OTHER?
Four of the categories are straightforward – and clutter could include birds, balloons, drones, or even plastic bags caught in the wind; and natural phenomena could be something as simple as ice crystals and moisture that may register on some infrared and radar systems; while UAPs could also include classified programs by the U.S. government, as well as technologies from China or Russia. The issue is still what is meant by “other.”
That could certainly give those who “look to the skies” further ammunition that the government isn’t being so transparent.
The ODNI Preliminary Assessment only stated, “Although most of the UAP described in our dataset probably remain unidentified due to limited data or challenges to collection processing or analysis, we may require additional scientific knowledge to successfully collect on, analyze and characterize some of them. We would group such objects in this category pending scientific advances that allowed us to better understand them. The UAPTF intends to focus additional analysis on the small number of cases where a UAP appeared to display unusual flight characteristics or signature management.”
It sounds much like what the late Donald Rumsfeld, former secretary of defense, said while defending the Bush Administration’s decision to go into Iraq, namely, “There are things that we know we don’t know.”
THE FINAL WORD – PROBABLY NOT
There aren’t likely to be any answers that satisfy everyone’s curiosity on the matter, especially given the number of UAPs. It was in May of this year, that senior defense intelligence officials told members of Congress that the number of UAPs cataloged by the Pentagon’s newly formed task force had grown to 400. Only about half of the cases could be explained.
Though the officials said the analysis lacked the evidence suggesting any of the sightings were actually of alien spacecraft, most UAP reports will likely remain unresolved. This includes objects reportedly observed by Navy pilots that exhibited speed and maneuverability exceeding known aviation technology and lacking any visible means of propulsion. In other cases, some of the objects lacked traditional flight control surfaces.
“In many cases, observed phenomena are classified as ‘unidentified’ simply because sensors were not able to collect enough information to make a positive attribution,” Gough added. “We are working to mitigate these shortfalls for the future and to ensure we have sufficient data for our analysis.”
PROJECT BLUE BOOK
Between March 1952 and December 1969, the United States Air Force conducted a systematic study of UFOs as part of its “Project Blue Book,” which was headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and initially directed by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt. It followed projects of a similar nature including Project Sign, established in 1947, and Project Grudge in 1948.
Project Blue Book had two goals, namely, to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data. By the time it was ended, it had collected 12,618 UFO reports, and concluded that most of them were misidentifications of natural phenomena – including clouds and stars – or conventional aircraft. Ruppelt, who has been widely regarded as an effective and objective investigator-manager, was reported to be genuinely perplexed by the UFO phenomenon.
He is also generally credited with coining the term “Unidentified Flying Objects.”
In his 1956 book, titled The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, Ruppelt explained that the Air Force had two bitterly divided factions. There were those who believed such UFOs were alien in nature, while others were far more skeptical. Those in the former camp even included generals and top-grade civilians, and their views were backed up by some civilian scientists of the era.
The pending report is unlikely to change any minds, especially as it lacks any final conclusion. The truth may be out there, but an absolute explanation won’t likely be in the report.
Scientists have just witnessed Titan's astonishing surface for the first time
The largest moon of Saturn is an unique habitat in our Solar System. It appears to be a world different from our own, with its methane-filled lakes, freezing volcanoes, and underground tunnels. However, Titan's first geomorphological map demonstrates that, while its landscape is spectacular and diverse, these elements actually make it surprisingly similar to Earth.
Titan is the only other body in the Solar System known to have stable liquid on its surface except Earth. Titan's lakes, rivers, and seas, on the other hand, are made of the liquid methane and ethane that rains down from its clouds. Titan is also the only moon with a considerable atmosphere and dense enough air to allow a person to walk over its harsh terrain without a spacesuit (though you'd have some additional problems to cope with, what with the methane rain and lakes...).
Titan's liquid is very exciting for another reason: the moon may harbour life in the layer of water that runs beneath its frozen surface.
This new map points out the countless lakes, dunes, craters, and plains. According to the report, these various traits may have arisen as a result of the same geological process that occurred on Earth.
Titan's lakes, dunes, and flat plains are depicted in unparalleled detail in the first geological depiction of the planet. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU "Despite the differences in materials, temperatures, and gravity fields between Earth and Titan, many surface features are similar and can be interpreted as products of the same geologic processes," Rosaly Lopes, a planetary geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and lead author of the new study, said in a statement.
The map was built using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Cassini was launched on October 15, 1997, to research Saturn and its moons, and it performed 120 flybys of Titan.
On September 15, 2017, the spacecraft crashed into Saturn's atmosphere, effectively terminating its 20-year mission.
Cassini employed radar imaging to peer through Titan's dense atmosphere of methane and nitrogen, as well as infrared equipment to see the planet's bigger geological formations.
“The Cassini mission revealed that Titan is a geologically active world, where hydrocarbons like methane and ethane take the role that water has on Earth,” David Williams, associate research professor at Arizona State University and a co-author on the study, said in a statement. “These hydrocarbons rain down on the surface, flow in streams and rivers, accumulate in lakes and seas, and evaporate into the atmosphere. It’s quite an astounding world!”
NASA thinks that by taking advantage of Titan's rich atmosphere and low gravity, its craft Dragonfly will be able to explore dozens of spots throughout the frozen globe – and maybe discover signs of life.
NASA/JHU-APL
In the year 2026, NASA is planning an expedition to better investigate this unique world. The Dragonfly mission will collect and return samples from the frozen moon to Earth. It is also hoped that traces of life may be discovered, which could be the first indication that humans are not as cosmologically unique as we believe.
Multiverse: Astronomers have possibly found evidence for infinite number of parallel universes
Astronomers refer to it as the multiverse. There are multiple universes in this one. Physicists define more than one as an infinite number. These innumerable universes coexist in higher levels that our senses are incapable of directly experiencing.
Nonetheless, astronomers and cosmologists appear to be increasingly using the multiverse to explain baffling observations.
The stakes are really high. Each alternate universe has an own version of reality. There will be one in which you wrote this column and I read it; another in which the Guardian is an alt-right propaganda rag; and yet another in which Donald Trump uses Twitter to distribute only adorable cat videos.
The latest piece of evidence supporting a multiverse comes from the Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom. They recently published a study on the "cold spot." This is an extremely chilly area of space detected in the radiation produced by the Universe's birth around 13 billion years ago.
The cold spot was discovered in 2004 by NASA's WMAP satellite and verified in 2013 by ESA's Planck spacecraft. It's quite perplexing. Most astronomers and cosmologists feel it is exceedingly improbable to have been formed during the creation of the universe since it is mathematically difficult to explain using the prevailing explanation, known as inflation.
This new study claims to rule out a more mundane explanation: that the chilly region is an optical illusion caused by a lack of adjacent galaxies.
One of the study’s authors, Professor Tom Shanks of Durham University, told the RAS, “We can’t entirely rule out that the Spot is caused by an unlikely fluctuation explained by the standard [theory of the Big Bang]. But if that isn’t the answer, then there are more exotic explanations. Perhaps the most exciting of these is that the Cold Spot was caused by a collision between our universe and another bubble universe. If further, more detailed, analysis … proves this to be the case then the Cold Spot might be taken as the first evidence for the multiverse.”
That's some serious thinking. But, if there is a multiverse, scientists must recognize that the ultimate goal of physics - explaining why our universe is the way it is - may be permanently out of grasp.
Physics' ultimate goal has been to explain why our cosmos takes the shape it does. This requires explaining why certain fundamental quantities have the values that they do. For example, the speed of light, the mass of an electron, and the gravitational interaction strength.
However, if there is a multiverse, that quest may be doomed to failure.
As there are an endless number of universes that are similar but somewhat different (such as the one in which you wrote this column rather than me), there will also be an infinite number in which the basic principles of physics are different.
As a result, every potential physics combination is tested across the multiverse. Inevitably, by pure chance, at least one will have the conditions we see around us now. It's just a huge old accident, which doesn't seem very rewarding.
Ironically, one of the most ardent opponents of the multiverse idea is one of its original founders. Princeton University's Paul Steinhardt contributed to the development of inflation, the theory of the start of our world. It's the one who can't explain the cold spot while still giving rise to the multiverse since, according to its arithmetic, once a universe begins to form, it causes more to form indefinitely.
However, Steinhardt rejected his own theory.
In 2014, he told Scientific American magazine, “Our observable universe would be just one possibility out of a continuous spectrum of outcomes. So, we have not explained any feature of the universe by introducing inflation after all. We have just shifted the problem of the original big bang model (how can we explain our simple universe when there is a nearly infinite variety of possibilities that could emerge from the big bang?) to the inflationary model (how can we explain our simple universe when there is a nearly infinite variety of possibilities that could emerge in a multiverse?).”
To put it another way, a multiverse does not sound appealing. It would go right to the heart of physics' purpose. Nature, of course, is unconcerned about this. Perhaps the universe really is this way, and we just have to accept it. Certainly, many people are willing to defend the multiverse as a credible line of thought.
If we truly live in a multiverse, we may rest confident that there is an alternate version of you and me out there who has already figured all of this out (and won a Nobel prize for the effort).
Kepler-1229b is a planet 2.7 times the mass of Earth in the habitable zone of a red star. Studies indicate that zodiacal light might be visible from its surface, creating a red, almost lavalike glow in the night sky.
SHAO/Yue Xu
One of the most coveted sights for skygazers is the zodiacal light, a tall cone of whitish light that climbs the mid-latitude sky before dawn in autumn and at twilight in the spring. The light comes from the Sun glinting off dust particles in the solar system and the dust, it seems, originates from comets and possibly even from Mars.
It turns out that anyone looking up on some exoplanets could see their own zodiacal light as well.
In excess
In research presented at the virtual 239th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society last week, Jian Ge of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and Chinese Academy of Sciences — whose team included three high school students — described other solar systems where data suggest there exist debris disks that could give rise to otherworldly zodiacal light.
Ge worked with Chinese and American colleagues, including high schoolers Larry Ge, Amanda Hao, and Justin Hou. They gathered information from a number of sources, including the Kepler space telescope, the former Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer space telescope, the Gaia mission. The team looked at three worlds: the super-Earths Kepler-69c, Kepler-1229b, and Kepler-395c, all of which may be habitable. They sleuthed a variety of infrared data, searching for “extra” emission in the infrared portion of the spectrum. This excess is indicative of solar system dust and debris absorbing light and re-radiating it at longer wavelengths.
What’s more, they found dust as hot as 260 degrees Fahrenheit (127 degrees Celsius). Based on the similar temperature of our solar system’s own zodiacal dust, this suggests dust lurking close to at least two of the planets.
On Kepler-69c, a super-Earth 2.1 times the mass of our planet with a Venus-like atmosphere, the zodiacal light might appear as a narrow, bright band of white light.
SHAO/Yue Xu
Details in the dust
The team’s illustrations portray a poetic sense of the possible views. On both Kepler-1229b and Kepler-395c, red host stars would render an almost volcanic-looking zodiacal light. On Kepler-69c, the planet’s venusian environment might turn its zodiacal light into a white searchlight in a dark muted sky.
These results are not just aesthetic. The presence of dust suggests there could be — especially in the two younger systems — active formation of small objects like moons and minor planets. The prospect can help foster future research into how such smaller objects can both collide into and stabilize exoplanets.
“Younger planet systems experience more activities (such as comet activities and asteroid collisions),” Ge told Astronomy. But “we cannot rule out that some old systems experience occasional activities.” For example, the oldest system, Kepler-69, might have been experiencing increased activity — such as collisions or cometary activity — close to the star while Kepler was observing it, Ge says.
As to anyone — or anything — actually looking up from those planets to see the zodiacal light, well, theoretically it’s possible.
Although Ge says astronomers have previously found debris disks around other systems, none of them were considered habitable. “Our work is the first-ever on zodiacal light and debris disks around habitable planet systems,” Ge says.
So, the next time you’re hunting for the zodiacal light here on Earth, perhaps you can stretch your imagination to some other worlds where eyes are also looking.
'Giant arc' stretching 3.3 billion light-years across the cosmos shouldn't exist
A newly discovered crescent of galaxies spanning 3.3 billion light-years is one of the world’s largest known structures, challenging some of astronomers’ most fundamental assumptions about the universe.
The epic arrangement known as the Giant Arc is made up of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and a lot of gas and dust. It is located 9.2 billion light-years away and stretches across roughly a 15th of the observable universe.
Its discovery was “serendipitous,” according to Alexia Lopez, a doctoral candidate in cosmology at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in the United Kingdom. Lopez was creating maps of things in the night sky using light from approximately 120,000 quasars, which are distant brilliant cores of galaxies where supermassive black holes consume material and produce energy.
As this light passes through matter between us and the quasars, it is absorbed by various components, leaving telltale traces that can provide important information to researchers. In particular, Lopez used marks left by magnesium to determine the distance to the intervening gas and dust, as well as the material’s position in the night sky
The Giant Arc. Grey regions show areas that absorb magnesium, which reveals the distribution of galaxies and galaxy clusters. The blue dots are background quasars, sometimes known as spotlights.
(Image credit: Alexia Lopez/UCLan)
In this way, the quasars act “like spotlights in a dark room, illuminating this intervening matter,” Lopez said. A structure began to develop in the midst of the cosmic maps. “It was sort of a hint of a big arc,” Lopez said. “I remember going to Roger [Clowes] and saying ‘Oh, look at this.'”
Clowes, her doctoral adviser at UCLan, suggested further investigation to guarantee it wasn’t an accident or a data trick. After doing two different statistical tests, the researchers determined that there was less than a 0.0003% probability that the Giant Arc wasn’t real. They presented their findings at the American Astronomical Society’s 238th virtual meeting
The structure of the Giant Arc is shown in grey, with nearby quasars superimposed in blue. There is a tentative relationship between these two datasets.
(Image credit: Alexia Lopez/UCLan.
But the finding, which will take its place in the list of the biggest things in the cosmos, undermines a bedrock expectation about the universe. Astronomers have long held to the cosmological principle, which holds that matter is more or less evenly distributed throughout space at the largest scales.
The Giant Arc is greater than other large buildings like the Sloan Great Wall and the South Pole Wall, both of which are dwarfed by even larger cosmic features. “There have been a number of large-scale structures discovered over the years,” Clowes told Live Science. “They’re so large, you wonder if they’re compatible with the cosmological principle.”
The fact that such massive entities have gathered in particular places of the universe suggests that matter may not have been distributed evenly throughout the universe. However, Lopez added, the current standard model of the cosmos is based on the cosmological principle.
“If we’re finding it not to be true, maybe we need to start looking at a different set of theories or rules.”
Lopez doesn’t know what those theories would look like, though she mentioned the idea of modifying how gravity works on the largest scales, a possibility that has been popular with a small but loud contingent of scientists in recent years.
The South Pole Wall’s founder, Daniel Pomarède, a cosmographer at Paris-Saclay University in France, agreed that the cosmological principle should put a theoretical limit on the size of cosmic things.
Some research has suggested that structures should reach a certain size and then be unable to get larger, Pomarède told Live Science. “Instead, we keep finding these bigger and bigger structures.”
Yet he isn’t quite ready to toss out the cosmological principle, which has been used in models of the universe for about a century.
“It would be very bold to say that it will be replaced by something else,” he said.
Alongside advances in space exploration, we've recently seen much time and money invested into technologies that could allow effective space resource utilization. And at the forefront of these efforts has been a laser-sharp focus on finding the best way to produce oxygen on the Moon.
In October, the Australian Space Agency and NASA signed a deal to send an Australian-made rover to the Moon under the Artemis program, with a goal to collect lunar rocks that could ultimately provide breathable oxygen on the Moon.
Although the Moon does have an atmosphere, it's very thin and composed mostly of hydrogen, neon, and argon. It's not the sort of gaseous mixture that could sustain oxygen-dependent mammals such as humans.
That said, there is actually plenty of oxygen on the Moon. It just isn't in a gaseous form. Instead it's trapped inside regolith – the layer of rock and fine dust that covers the Moon's surface.
If we could extract oxygen from regolith, would it be enough to support human life on the Moon?
The breadth of oxygen
Oxygen can be found in many of the minerals in the ground around us. And the Moon is mostly made of the same rocks you'll find on Earth (although with a slightly greater amount of material that came from meteors).
Minerals such as silica, aluminum, and iron and magnesium oxides dominate the Moon's landscape. All of these minerals contain oxygen, but not in a form our lungs can access.
On the Moon these minerals exist in a few different forms including hard rock, dust, gravel, and stones covering the surface. This material was resulted from the impacts of meteorites crashing into the lunar surface over countless millennia.
Some people call the Moon's surface layer lunar "soil", but as a soil scientist I'm hesitant to use this term. Soil as we know it is pretty magical stuff that only occurs on Earth. It has been created by a vast array of organisms working on the soil's parent material – regolith, derived from hard rock – over millions of years.
The result is a matrix of minerals which were not present in the original rocks. Earth's soil is imbued with remarkable physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Meanwhile, the materials on the Moon's surface is basically regolith in its original, untouched form.-
One substance goes in, two come out
The Moon's regolith is made up of approximately 45 percent oxygen. But that oxygen is tightly bound into the minerals mentioned above. In order to break apart those strong bonds, we need to put in energy.
You might be familiar with this if you know about electrolysis. On Earth this process is commonly used in manufacturing, such as to produce aluminum. An electrical current is passed through a liquid form of aluminum oxide (commonly called alumina) via electrodes, to separate the aluminum from the oxygen.
In this case, the oxygen is produced as a byproduct. On the Moon, the oxygen would be the main product and the aluminum (or other metal) extracted would be a potentially useful byproduct.
It's a pretty straightforward process, but there is a catch: it's very energy hungry. To be sustainable, it would need to be supported by solar energy or other energy sources available on the Moon.
Extracting oxygen from regolith would also require substantial industrial equipment. We'd need to first convert solid metal oxide into liquid form, either by applying heat, or heat combined with solvents or electrolytes.
We have the technology to do this on Earth, but moving this apparatus to the Moon – and generating enough energy to run it – will be a mighty challenge.
Earlier this year, Belgium-based startup Space Applications Services announced it was building three experimental reactors to improve the process of making oxygen via electrolysis. They expect to send the technology to the Moon by 2025 as part of the European Space Agency's in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) mission.
How much oxygen could the Moon provide?
That said, when we do manage to pull it off, how much oxygen might the Moon actually deliver? Well, quite a lot as it turns out.
If we ignore oxygen tied up in the Moon's deeper hard rock material – and just consider regolith which is easily accessible on the surface – we can come up with some estimates.
Each cubic meter of lunar regolith contains 1.4 tonnes of minerals on average, including about 630 kilograms of oxygen. NASA says humans need to breathe about 800 grams of oxygen a day to survive. So 630 kg oxygen would keep a person alive for about two years (or just over).
Now let's assume the average depth of regolith on the Moon is about 10 meters, and that we can extract all of the oxygen from this. That means the top 10 meters of the Moon's surface would provide enough oxygen to support all 8 billion people on Earth for somewhere around 100,000 years.
This would also depend on how effectively we managed to extract and use the oxygen. Regardless, this figure is pretty amazing!
Having said that, we do have it pretty good here on Earth. And we should do everything we can to protect the blue planet – and its soil in particular – which continues to support all terrestrial life without us even trying.
The Moon Has Enough Oxygen to Sustain 8 Billion People For 100,000 Years
Although the Moon does have an atmosphere, it is very thin and mostly made of hydrogen, neon, and argon. This is not a gaseous combination capable of supporting oxygen-dependent animals such as humans.
On the Moon, there is an abundance of oxygen. It is just not in a gaseous state. Rather than that, it is trapped inside regolith — the lunar surface's covering of rock and fine dust. Would oxygen extracted from regolith be sufficient to sustain human life on the Moon?
Oxygen is present in a wide variety of minerals found in the earth around us. Additionally, the Moon is composed mostly of the same materials found on Earth (although with a slightly greater amount of material that came from meteors).
The Moon's surface is dominated by minerals such as silica, aluminum, iron, and magnesium oxides. All of these minerals include oxygen, but in an inaccessible form to our lungs.
These minerals occur in a variety of forms on the Moon, including hard rock, dust, gravel, and stones that blanket the surface. This substance is the consequence of countless millennia of meteorites colliding with the lunar surface.
The regolith of the Moon is composed of around 45 percent oxygen. However, that oxygen is inextricably linked to the minerals listed above. To dismantle such tenacious relationships, we must invest energy.
If you are acquainted with electrolysis, you may be familiar with this. This procedure is often used in manufacturing on Earth, for example, to manufacture aluminum. To separate the aluminum from the oxygen, an electrical current is conducted through a liquid form of aluminum oxide (usually termed alumina) through electrodes.
As a byproduct, oxygen is created in this situation. On the Moon, the primary product would be oxygen, but aluminum (or other metal) would be a potentially valuable byproduct.
It's a rather basic operation, but there is a catch: it consumes a lot of energy. To be sustainable, it would need to be powered by solar energy or other Moon-based energy sources.
Earlier this year, Belgian firm Space Applications Services announced the construction of three experimental reactors to enhance the electrolysis process for producing oxygen. They want to launch the device to the Moon in 2025 as part of the European Space Agency's in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) program.
Having said that, how much oxygen may the Moon supply if we succeed? As it turns out, quite a bit.
We can make some estimations if we disregard oxygen trapped in the Moon's subsurface hard rock material and focus only on the regolith that is readily accessible on the surface.
Lunar regolith includes an average of 1.4 tonnes of minerals, including around 630 kilos of oxygen per cubic metre (35 sq ft). According to NASA, people need around 800 grams of oxygen every day to exist. Thus, 630 kg of oxygen would sustain a human for around two years (or just over).
Assume now that the average depth of regolith on the Moon is around 10 meters and that we can extract all of the oxygen from it. That indicates that the top ten meters of the Moon's surface would contain enough oxygen to sustain the Earth's eight billion people for around 100,000 years.
This would also rely on our ability to collect and use oxygen properly. Regardless, this figurine is rather incredible!
Having said that, we on Earth really have it pretty well. And we should do everything possible to conserve the blue world — particularly its soil — which sustains all terrestrial life without our intervention.
Secret unmanned US spaceship causes chaos as it lands in Florida - after almost THREE YEARS circling earth - with locals fearing it was a UFO streaking through the sky... as sonic boom rocked houses
Central Florida residents received quite the scare on Saturday around 5.15am when the X-37B spaceship deorbited, causing a sonic boom
Many said they were woken up by the boom and that houses rattled from it
'Woke me up, thought something hit the house,' a Twitter user said
The Space Force later confirmed the X-37B had successfully landed at 5.22am after being in orbit for 908 days
The unmanned ship is used to conduct experiments in space, including crop production and harnessing solar rays to be used as energy on Earth
A secret, unmanned US Space Force X-37B ship landed early on Saturday after spending a record 908 days in orbit, causing Florida residents to fear it was a UFO after hearing sonic booms.
The solar-powered vehicle, which looks like a miniature space shuttle, landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center around 5.15am on Saturday afterlaunching in May 2020 on its sixth mission. Its previous mission lasted 780 days.
Its unexpected return left some Central Floridians fearing for their life as a loud sonic boom sounded in the early morning hours and houses shook when the spacecraft returned to earth.
The boom could be heard from Titusville to Kissimmee, according to Fox 29.
Twitter user Robert Haas, wrote: 'Woke me up, thought something hit the house, Facebook and Twitter seem to confirm it was what I thought, sonic boom seems likely.'
Another wrote: 'I heard a triple boom at 5.15am in Haines City, FL. I thought someone jumped on my roof!'
A secret, unmanned US Space Force X-37B ship landed early on Saturday after spending a record 908 days in orbit
The solar-powered vehicle, which looks like a miniature space shuttle, landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center around 5.15am, unexpected to Central Florida residents
'Just woke up to a sonic boom shaking the house. I’m seeing reports from Tampa to Titusville. What the hell just flew across Florida? Was there a launch?,' another user wrote.
'Just heard a sonic boom in the Orlando area. No launch scheduled right now,' Matt Collins wrote.
Sophie Sanchez claimed she 'saw' the rocket landing near the Cape early in the morning and said 'everyone on the road hit their brakes.'
'When I saw [it, I don't know] what streaked overhead. Meteor? UFO?' she had wondered.
Another shared a US Fish and Wildlife Services notification claiming Merritt Island would be closed due to 'operations NASA.'
It was later confirmed by the Space Force that the spacecraft had successfully deorbited at 5.22am.
While on its nearly three-year journey, the spacecraft - for the first time - hosted a service module that carried experiments for the Naval Research Laboratory, US Air Force Academy, and others. The module separated from the vehicle before de-orbiting to ensure a safe landing.
Among the experiments was a satellite dubbed the FalconSat-8 that was designed and built by academy cadets in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory. It was deployed in October 2021 and still remains in orbit.
Another experiment evaluated the effects of long-duration space exposure on seeds.
'The seeds experiment will inform space crop production for future interplanetary missions and the establishment of permanently inhabited bases in space,' the military reported.
Naval Research Laboratory's experiment 'successfully harnessed solar rays outside of Earth's atmosphere and aimed to transmit power to the ground in the form of radio frequency microwave energy,' according to Space Force.
'This mission highlights the Space Force's focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force,' said Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations.
'Since the X-37B's first launch in 2010, it has shattered records and provided our nation with an unrivaled capability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies,' said Jim Chilton, a senior vice president for Boeing, its developer.
Many were woken up by the sonic booms and took to social media to wonder what it was
The ship is powered by solar cells with lithium-ion batteries, the plane was orbiting at around 200 miles high.
The first mission in 2010 lasted 224 days, the second a year later went on for 468 days and the mission that ended in 2019 lasted a total of 780 days.
The X-37Be has now flown over 1.3billion miles and spent a total of 3,774 days in space.
The Air Force is usually very secretive about what the spacecraft takes to orbit with, but made an exception in its last mission.
The military group also shared some details of the craft's 2019 mission.
The group noted that the X-37B was carrying the Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader built by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
According to the AFRL, the payload's three primary science objectives are to measure the initial on-orbit thermal performance, to measure long-duration thermal performance and to assess any lifetime degradation.
Another shared an FAA map, showing the spacecraft had landed in Central Florida
Five previous X-37B missions have been launched by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets.
Each time the unmanned space plane has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
'The many firsts on this mission make the upcoming OTV launch a milestone for the program,' Walden said at a previous launch.
'It is our goal to continue advancing the X-37B OTV so it can more fully support the growing space community.'
WHAT IS THE X-37B SPACE PLANE?
The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller.
The space plane is 29 feet (8.8 metres) long, 9.6 feet (2.9 metres) tall and weighs around 11,000 lbs. (4,990 kilograms).
It is orbiting at around 200 miles (320 kilometres) high.
The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller. The space plane is 29 feet (8.8 metres) long, 9.6 feet (2.9 metres) tall and weighs around 11,000 lbs. (4,990 kilograms)
Officials have revealed few details about the OTV-5 mission (the aircraft's fifth) but according to the Air Force, one on board OTV-5 payload is US thermal spreader which will test the longevity of electronics and heat pipes in the space environment.
The craft is powered by solar cells with lithium-ion batteries.
Four previous X-37B missions have been launched by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets.
Each time the unmanned space plane has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
Mysterious US Space Drone Returns to Earth After Record-Breaking Mission
A US military space drone landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday after nearly two and a half years in orbit, Boeing said.
The unmanned X-37B shuttle, whose first flight took place in 2010, has now spent a total of more than 10 years in space and flown more than 1.3 billion miles during six missions, Boeingsaid in a statement.
"This mission highlights the Space Force's focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force," said General Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations.
Launched in secrecy, the X-37B was designed for the Air Force by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
It is 30 feet (9 meters) long, has a 15-foot wingspan and is powered by solar panels.
Before the shuttle's last launch, in May 2020, the Pentagon evoked a series of scientific experiments it would undertake.
The mission was to test how certain materials react in space, to evaluate how ambient radiation in space affects a series of seeds, and to transform solar radiation into radio-electric energy, the army said.
The Milky Way Is MOVING Through The Universe At 2.1 MILLION Kilometers Per Hour
Nothing is standing or stationary. As you are reading this, the Earth spins around its own axis; it revolves around the sun, the sun is moving through space at a stunning 792,000 km/h around the gigantic center, and our universe is moving at a mind-boggling 2.1 million kilometers per hour.
You may contemplate that as you are reading this, your body in a stationary position. But, everything inside the universe travels, from our planet (Earth) –which revolves on its axis at a speed of approximately 1700 km/h— to the solar system and even the Milky Way Galaxy.
All the planets in the solar system and their personal moons also travel through space. Actually, in order to retain a stable orbit, it is essential for Earth to move around 30 km/s. The innermost planets in our system, Mercury and Venus travel faster while planet Mars and the external planets of our solar system fly through space at a sluggish pace.
But think superior and bigger. Even yet the Sun is at the heart of our solar system, it is also travelling at an unbelievable speed through space.
If we consider even bigger, we will understand that even our gigantic Milky Way galaxy is in motion, and all continuing things that make up the universe such as stars, gas clouds, planets, black holes and even the mighty dark matter travel within the universe.
Just as Earth revolve around the Sun and our Sun revolves the galactic center –which from our vantage point is situated around 2500 light-years away— in an elliptic trajectory. It finishes a revolution every 225 million years roughly. This is known as a Galactic year.
It is predicted that since the Sun and Earth came into being, 20 galactic years have passed, which means that we ended 20 successful revolutions orbiting the galactic center. However, if we relate detailed human history to our movement through the universe, we would understand we hardly moved in our galactic path.
But what about the Speed? In order to finish a successful revolution around the galactic center, the Star (Sun) has to travel at a stunning speed of 792,000 km/h. Including Earth and all other objects in our complete solar system follow the sun at this obsessive speed.
In comparison, light-travels at a mesmerizing speed of 1.09 BILLION km/h.
Though, not only do moons, planets, and in this particular case, our sun travels through space, the galaxy also moves through space, pushed by the gravitation of other enormous objects in the universe.
As it turns out, our Galaxy is now being thrown, by other huge galaxies and clusters in the surrounding area — near a certain point in the universe.
But wait a minute, related to WHAT is we actually calculating the movement through the universe? Well, when arguing our speed around the Milky Way Galaxy, researchers are capable to measure it relative to the HEART of the Milky Way Galaxy.
However, the Milky Way Galaxy isn’t motionless or stationary, and it also moves through the universe. So is there anything to which its motion can be compared?
For a long period time, astronomers and scientists were not able to answer any questions like this. We can compare our galaxy’s speed with other galaxies, but all the other galaxies travel through the universe just as the Milky Way Galaxy does.
In order to answer this mystery, astronomers and scientists point towards the CBR (Cosmic Background Radiation) and the Big Bang.
As stated by NASA, The Big Bang theory guesses that the early universe was an extremely hot place and that as it grows; the gas within it gets cooler. Therefore the universe should be packed with radiation that is exactly the remnant heat left from the Big Bang, called the “Cosmic Microwave Background,” or CMB. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation was produced 13.7 billion years ago.
Theoretically speaking, the CBR suggests experts with a frame of reference for the entire universe, compared to which we can determine and calculate our motion.
In order to get knowledge of how fast we’re travelling through the universe, astronomers need to take away the motion of planet Earth around the Sun and the Sun around the center of the Milky Way from the movement measured compared to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CBR).
This means that the Milky Way Galaxy is travelling through space at an amazing speed of 2.1 million km/h, in the direction of the constellations of Virgo and Leo; exactly where the so-called Great Attractor is situated.
An artist's impression of a magnetar, a highly magnetic, slowly rotating neutron star.
Credit: ESO/L. Calçada
New Observations Confirm That a Magnetar has a Solid Surface and No Atmosphere
Atmosphere
Can a star have a solid surface? It might sound counterintuitive. But human intuition is a response to our evolution on Earth, where up is up, down is down, and there are three states of matter. Intuition fails when it confronts the cosmos.
Magnetars are dead stars with intense magnetic fields, the most intense we know of. They’re a type of neutron star, the stellar remnants of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. Magnetars are not only highly magnetized compared to neutron stars, but they also rotate more slowly. While a magnetar might rotate once or twice every ten seconds, a neutron star can rotate as fast as ten times each second.
Magnetars are one of those cosmic objects that scientists deduced must have existed long before they found one. They were invoked to explain the existence of transient gamma-ray sources called soft gamma repeaters (SGRs.) The hypothesis is that as a magnetar’s intense magnetic field slowly decays, it will emit gamma rays and x-rays. It takes about 10,000 years for the field to decay. Now we know of at least 31 magnetars, and researchers calculate that there are about 30 million inactive magnetars in the Milky Way.
Magnetars emit powerful x-rays and undergo erratic bursts of activity. A magnetar’s bursts and flares can emit in a single second what our Sun needs an entire year to emit. The extreme magnetic fields are responsible for this behaviour, scientists think, and they can be up to one thousand times more powerful than the magnetic fields around neutron stars.
A new study says that one of these magnetars has a solid surface and no atmosphere. It’s called 4U 0142+61, and it’s about 13,000 light years away from Earth in the Cassiopeia constellation. The study is “Polarized x-rays from a magnetar,” and it’s published in the journal Science. The lead author is Dr. Roberto Taverna, from the University of Padova (Padua), Italy.
“The star’s gas has reached a tipping point and become solid in a similar way that water might turn to ice. This is a result of the star’s incredibly strong magnetic field.”
Co-lead author Professor Silvia Zane, UCL, IXPE science team member.
A spacecraft launched in December 2021 made this study possible. The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is a joint mission between the Italian Space Agency and NASA. As the name makes clear, the spacecraft observes the polarisation of x-rays. Exotic objects like black holes, pulsars, neutron stars, and magnetars all have extreme environments that polarise x-rays. IXPE can observe these x-rays and provide insights into the objects and their environments. Understanding the exotic, powerful magnetic fields around magnetars is one of IXPE’s explicit objectives.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft onboard from Launch Complex 39A, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The IXPE spacecraft is the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars. The launch occurred at 1 a.m. EST. Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky
As this study shows, it’s paying dividends.
This study marks the first time that scientists have observed polarised x-rays from a magnetar. IXPE observed the magnetar for a total of 840 kiloseconds (about 233 hours) in January and February of 2022. What did those observations show?
First, a bit about polarised light.
Most of the light we encounter is non-polarized. That means that as the light travels, it “vibrates” in multiple planes and travels outward in multiple directions. Sunlight, electric light, and a candle flame all emit non-polarized light.
Polarized light is light that vibrates in only one plane. You’ve probably worn polarized sunglasses at one time or another. They reduce glare by filtering out light vibrating on other planes and only allowing aligned light to reach your eyes.
Since light, including x-rays, is electromagnetic energy, extremely powerful magnetic fields around magnetars can polarise light. By measuring the degree of polarity, scientists can make deductions about the magnetic fields and the objects generating them. That’s at the heart of IXPE’s mission and at the heart of this study. IXPE has three identical imaging X-ray polarimetry systems that operate independently for redundancy. IXPE creates polarization maps that reveal the structure of the magnetic fields around objects like magnetars.
An artist’s rendition of the IXPE spacecraft. Image Credit: HEASARC (High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Center.)
As the paper’s one-sentence summary says, “The IXPE observation of 4U 0142+61 gives the first ever measurement of polarized emission from a magnetar in x-rays.”
The researchers found a much lower proportion of polarised light than there should be if the x-rays had passed through an atmosphere. An atmosphere around the magnetar would act like a filter and allow only one polarisation state of light to pass through.
The team also found that the wiggle, or angle of polarisation, flipped exactly 90 degrees for higher energies when compared to lower energies. Theoretical models of magnetars state that a solid surface surrounded by magnetic fields can produce these observations.
“The most exciting feature we could observe is the change in polarisation direction with energy, with the polarisation angle swinging by exactly 90 degrees,” said lead author Taverna. “This is in agreement with what theoretical models predict and confirms that magnetars are indeed endowed with ultra-strong magnetic fields.”
“This was completely unexpected,” said co-lead author Professor Silvia Zane (UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory) and a member of the IXPE science team. “I was convinced there would be an atmosphere. The star’s gas has reached a tipping point and become solid in a similar way that water might turn to ice. This is a result of the star’s incredibly strong magnetic field.”
“But, like with water, temperature is also a factor – a hotter gas will require a stronger magnetic field to become solid,” added Zane. “A next step is to observe hotter neutron stars with a similar magnetic field, to investigate how the interplay between temperature and magnetic field affects the properties of the star’s surface.”
Quantum theory plays a role in these findings. It predicts that when light is propagated in a highly magnetized environment, it’ll be polarized in two directions: parallel to the magnetic field lines and perpendicular to them. By observing both the polarity of the light and the amount of light, scientists can understand the structure of the magnetic field itself, which imprints itself on the light and on the physical state of the matter in the region of the magnetar. According to the study, this is the only way to access that information.
Magnetars can have complex magnetic fields, and IXPE is a powerful tool for observing them. IXPE creates polarization maps of objects like magnetars which is the only way to reveal their structure. This image is an artistic impression of a magnetar with a very complicated magnetic field at its interior and a simple small dipolar field outside. Credits: ESA – Author: Christophe Carreau
Professor Roberto Turolla from the University of Padova is another of the paper’s co-authors. In a press release, Turolla said, “The polarisation at low energies is telling us that the magnetic field is likely so strong to turn the atmosphere around the star into a solid or a liquid, a phenomenon known as magnetic condensation.”
Theory also predicts that this solid surface is made of ions held together in a lattice by magnetic fields. Rather than spherical like other atoms, these ones would be elongated due to the powerful magnetic force.
Scientists still debate whether or not magnetars and other neutron stars can even have atmospheres. There’s a ton of mystery surrounding these extreme objects and their confounding nature. But at least we know of one magnetar that has no atmosphere, or at least where a solid crust is a suitable explanation.
But the explanation still needs more scrutiny, say the authors.
“It is also worth noting that including quantum electrodynamics effects, as we did in our theoretical modelling, gives results compatible with the IXPE observation,” said co-author Professor Jeremy Heyl of the University of British Columbia. “Nevertheless, we are also investigating alternative models to explain the IXPE data, for which proper numerical simulations are still lacking.”
(Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Solar Dynamics Observatory)
The Sun Could Hurl Powerful Storms at us from its Goofy Smile
Our Sun is the very reason we’re alive. It provides warmth and the energy our planet needs to keep going. Now you can add photogenic to its illustrious résumé, as NASA recently photographed our giant ball of nuclear fusion doing something quite peculiar.
“Say cheese!” NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) tweeted on October 26th. “Today, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the Sun “smiling.” Seen in ultraviolet light, these dark patches on the Sun are known as coronal holes and are regions where fast solar wind gushes out into space.” These dark patches are also known as sunspots, which can reach approximately 3600 degrees Celsius (6500 degrees Fahrenheit), and are responsible for radiation-filled solar flares that can wreak havoc on a planet.
This phenomena is also known as space weather, and thankfully, our own planet has a protective magnetic field that deflects the solar flares to both the north and south poles, resulting in the beautiful auroras seen by many. Even with this field, solar storms can sometimes be powerful enough to create chaos with both satellites and worldwide electrical grids, causing communication delays and even blackouts.
Solar weather and the Earth’s magnetic field. (Credit: NASA)
It turns out this isn’t the first time our Sun has made faces at us, as NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, imaged the Sun depicting a jack-o-lantern’s face back in October 2014, which made for a spooky pre-Halloween treat for astronomy lovers.
Sun photographed displaying a jack-o-lantern face in October 2014. (Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory)
In terms of size, our Sun is approximately 100 times wider than the Earth, meaning dozens of Earths could snugly fit inside the Sun’s recent “smile”, which is a humble reminder that while our Sun is responsible for both life and displaying familiar surface features from time to time, it can also be responsible for immense death and destruction, as well.
Maybe our Sun smiling at us is a sign that it wants us to stick around for a while, but if we capture it giving us a frown, then maybe it’s time to panic.
Flashing Object Over Dunnellon, Florida Nov 12, 2022, UFO Sighting News
Eyewitness states:
Saturday night 11/12/22 approximately 9:30pm eastern sky rural Dunnellon Florida ... over pasture Romeo/Rainbow lakes area looking towards Ocala. Stationary/hovering circular pulsating bright white object eventually moved towards the south and disappeared.
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Eyewitness states:
Large blinking lights that changed in color and would blink. I also saw planes in the sky but their lights were much much smaller than the unidentified light. I was with my husband, cousin, and cousin-in-law. The lights seemed to pulsate, blink and change color.
Huge UFO Sighting over Orlando, FL, USA, February 10th 2022
Saturn Moons Titan And Dione Are Space Stations! Nov 12, 2022, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Guys, check this out. I discovered this back in 2010, but I have often thought deeply about it and really wanted to talk about it more. I thought it was photoshop by NASA, but more and more I am believing that this is a space station. The link still works and NASA actually labels it "photo of the day." It should be photo of the millennium because this is a huge and historical discovery about Dione and Titan. They are space stations, the back of Dione has huge finger like structures coming out of it. Dark structures so that they could not be detected from far away. The auto of colors around those dark fingers indicated a thriving civilization within them...the reds, pinks and greens could only be coming from a technological intelligent species.
Air Traffic Control Center Porto Alegre, Brazil captures UFO reported by pilots
For the fifth consecutive night, pilots belonging to different airlines have reported the presence of UFOs over the skies of Porto Alegre, Brazil.
According to Inexplicata, between 22:50 and 23:10, four flights reported the presence of strange lights in the sky to the Air Traffic Control center.
The flights in question were 4248, 3140, 4407, of Azul Air, and LATAM flight 3406. Pilots noticed that the lights went on and off, but did not constitute a hindrance to air traffic.
The moment was recorded by the Salgado Filho Airport Control Center.
This huge flashing UFO was filmed in the night sky above Dunnellon, a small city in Marion County, Florida this Saturday.
Witness report:
Saturday night 11/12/22 approximately 9:30pm eastern sky rural Dunnellon Florida … over pasture Romeo/Rainbow lakes area looking towards Ocala. Stationary/hovering circular pulsating bright white object eventually moved towards the south and disappeared.
Multiple UFOs filmed over Austin, Texas 12-Nov-2022
On November 12, 2022, residents of Austin, Texas, saw and recorded the appearance of mysterious lights in the sky. The state capital is located in an inland region bordering the Hill Country.
Witness report:
Eight shooting Stars shooting down position from exiting portal or more come dripping out of portal. Driving to the store me and my girlfriend saw portal open and shooting stars came out in a down position dripping fire ( trails) one after after another then another alot of them came dripping out they had orange yellow fire like effect. Moving up down left right blinking off and on abruptly changing directions and disappearing and reappearing landing very quickly at least two of them some got close but did not land . They were looking for something on the ground and they were quick to land and look with no fear of anything like they owned the place just doing what they want Two of the stars combined together in mid air in front of me and broke away from the group and disappear in front of me a few seconds later after joining together. They were just so many to keep up with it made me scared nausea’s confused I have video and a one picture I have proof this happened.
SpaceX Starship Record Static Fire Up Next, Starbase Management Change, Cygnus NG-18, JPSS 2 & SLS
Over at SpaceX’s Starbase at BocaChica this week, all effort seems focused on the first orbital test flight of Starship, with everything on site looking more refined by the day. We should have the SpaceX Starship record static fire up next! Ships coming down, Ships moving out, and a load of intriguing stuff to cover this week (including the Starbase management change). Cygnus NG-18 made its trip up to resupply the international space station, however there was an unexpected hiccup. A final farewell to United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V from Vandenberg in the spectacular JPSS-2 mission. SLS makes its way back to the launch pad for another attempt at its maiden flight
All About Tiangong Space Station
All About Tiangong Space Station
What is Tiangong Space Station? How big is it? Who is on board? Why was it built? Find out in this informative animation. China has launched their first space station, Tiangong. In this video, learn all about this historic accomplishment and how it will change space exploration.
China's Tiangong Space Station may not seem as large or advanced as the International Space Station, but it is still an important accomplishment in the field of space exploration. Now, let's take a closer look at Tiangong's design and construction.
Starship Booster 33 Engines Test Campaign Begins, SLS Damage, LOFTID, Cygnus Solar Array, Rocket Lab
SpaceX shuffles Starships, and gears up for 33 engine static fire test. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell takes over Starbase operations.
Cygnus arrives at the space station despite the solar array problem. NASA inspects Artemis I rocket after Hurricane Nicole. NASA tested the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator. Rocket Lab launches Swedish satellite but fails to catch booster with a helicopter.
Scripted on 10th November 2022
00:00 A Spacecraft Arrived at ISS With a Failed Solar Panel
01:49 NASA Assessing Damage to SLS From Hurricane Nicole 0
IN DE RUIMTE BEVINDT ZICH DIT ENORME 'KATTENOOG' EN HET BLIJKT EEN VERRASSING TE HERBERGEN
Vivian Lammerse
Dat de beroemde Kattenoognevel een vreemde eend in de bijt is, wisten astronomen al langer. Maar nu begrijpen ze ook waarom.
De Kattenoognevel is een planetaire nevel, die met wat fantasie op het oog van Sauron lijkt. De meeste planetaire nevels zijn vrij recht-door-zee, maar dat geldt niet voor de Kattenoognevel. Deze nevel bestaat uit een ingewikkelde structuur van knopen en structuren, boogachtige filamenten en concentrische gasschillen. Niet voor niets is de Kattenoognevel één van de meest complexe planetaire nevels die we kennen. Onderzoekers hebben nu voor het eerst een driedimensionaal model van de Kattenoognevel vervaardigd. En die verraadt hoe hij zijn opvallende voorkomen heeft gekregen.
Planetaire nevel Een planetaire nevel ontstaat wanneer een stervende, zonachtige ster zijn buitenste gaslaag wegslingert. Hierdoor wordt er en kleurrijke ‘schil’ gevormd die kenmerkend is voor dergelijke objecten. Maar zoals gezegd is de Kattenoognevel – een planetaire nevel op iets meer dan 3000 lichtjaar afstand van de aarde, te zien in het sterrenbeeld Draak – een vreemde eend in de bijt. De mysterieuze structuur van de nevel heeft astrofysici al eerder in verwarring gebracht. Zo blijkt dat zijn raadselachtige voorkomen niet kan worden verklaard door eerder aanvaarde theorieën over de vorming van planetaire nevels.
3D-model Onderzoeker Ryan Clairmont besloot een verwoede poging te wagen om de mogelijke mechanismen die de Kattenoognevel zijn vorm hebben gegeven, te ontraadselen. Daarvoor schakelde hij de hulp in van het het San Pedro Martir National Observatory in Mexico. Spectrale gegevens vervaardigd door dit observatorium verschaffen namelijk inzicht in de interne beweging van materiaal in de nevel. Samen met gegevens en afbeeldingen van de Hubble-ruimtetelescoop construeerde Clairmont vervolgens een gedetailleerd 3D-model.
De Kattenoognevel. Links: het nieuw vervaardigde 3D-model. Rechts: Een eerder gemaakte foto van Hubble.
Afbeelding: Ryan Clairmont (links), NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) (rechts)
Het 3D-model onthult ringen van gas die rond de buitenste schil van het Kattenoog cirkelen. Verrassend genoeg zijn deze gasringen bijna perfect symmetrisch ten opzichte van elkaar gepositioneerd. En dat is interessant. Deze symmetrie suggereert namelijk dat de gasringen zijn gevormd door een jet – een stroom van gas – die in tegengestelde richtingen werd uitgestoten vanuit een centrale ster.
Dubbelster Volgens de onderzoekers vertoonde deze jet een zogenoemde ‘ precessie-beweging’. Het eenvoudigste voorbeeld van precessie is een draaitol die op de grond ronddraait. En dat verraadt dat de centrale ster waarschijnlijk vergezeld is door een andere ster. Dat komt omdat bekend is dat alleen dubbelsterren zogenaamde ‘precesserende’ straalstromen in planetaire nevels kunnen aandrijven. Kortom, in het hart van de Kattenoognevel houdt zich vermoedelijk een dubbelster op.
De studie werpt nieuw licht op de raadselachtige vorm van de Kattenoognevel. Zo denken de onderzoekers dat de hoek en de richting van de jet in de loop van de tijd veranderde. En op deze manier zagen vervolgens alle opvallende kenmerken van de nevel het levenslicht. Daarnaast breidt het onderzoek ook onze kennis over planetaire nevels in het algemeen uit. “Precesserende jets in planetaire nevels zijn relatief zeldzaam,” zegt Clairmont. “Het is daarom belangrijk om te begrijpen hoe ze bijdragen aan de vorming van complexere systemen zoals de Kattenoognevel. Uiteindelijk zal dit ook inzicht verschaffen in het uiteindelijke lot van onze zon, die op een dag zelf een planetaire nevel zal worden.”
WETENSCHAPPERS VINDEN MYSTERIEUZE 'BLAUWE SMURRIE' OP DE BODEM VAN DE OCEAAN EN HEBBEN GEEN IDEE WAT HET IS
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Ideeën? Iemand?
Wetenschappers spotten de mysterieuze ‘blauwe smurrie’ tijdens een expeditie naar de Mid-Atlantische Rug; een grotendeels onder water gelegen bergketen in de Atlantische Oceaan. Onder meer met behulp van onderwaterrobots werd het gebied rondom deze keten – en het leven dat daar te vinden is – nader in kaart gebracht. Voorafgaand aan de expeditie verwachtten onderzoekers daarbij onder meer op diepzeekoraal en sponzen te stuitten, maar verrassingen waren zeker niet uitgesloten.
Blauwe smurrie En zo’n verrassing heeft zich nu dus aangediend in de vorm van wat de onderzoekers zelf ‘blauwe smurrie’ noemen. De ‘smurrie’ is op verschillende plekken voor de kust van de Amerikaanse Maagdeneilanden – op enkele honderden meters diepte – aangetroffen. En onderzoekers hebben geen idee wat het is.
Het zou een zacht koraal kunnen zijn, merkt één van de onderzoekers in bovenstaande video op. Maar, zo benadrukt een ander, we weten het nog niet. Het zou bijvoorbeeld ook een soort spons kunnen zijn. Of een soort manteldier. “Ik denk dat het een mysterie blijft, tot we het kunnen bemonsteren,” stelt één van de onderzoekers. Of tot een deskundige het op basis van de vrij scherpe beelden kan identificeren.
Gaten Het is zeker niet het eerste mysterie dat de expeditie naar Mid-Atlantische Rug voortbrengt. Zo stuitten onderzoekers eerder al op tamelijk mysterieuze gaten in de zeebodem waarvan nog altijd onbekend is hoe ze tot stand komen.
De nog altijd onverklaarbare gaten in de zeebodem die onderzoekers eerder aantroffen.
Afbeelding: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Voyage to the Ridge 2022.
En ook kwamen wetenschappers tijdens de expeditie een zeer zeldzame vergadering van zee-egels tegen. Onderzoekers zijn er nog maar zelden getuige van geweest dat zee-egels het gezellig maken samen. Maar wat de ontmoeting nog bijzonderder maakte, is dat alle verzamelde zee-egels zichzelf een ‘hoedje’ van puin hadden aangemeten. Waarom de zee-egels elkaar ontmoetten en waarom ze daarbij allemaal een hoedje op hadden, is nog altijd onduidelijk.
Eerder stuitten de onderzoekers tijdens de expeditie ook al op een zeldzame vergadering van zee-egels, waarbij alle verzamelde zee-egels ook nog eens een mysterieus ‘hoedje’ droegen.
Afbeeldingen: NOAA Ocean Exploration, Voyage to the Ridge 2022.
Zoveel onbekend De mysterieuze ontdekkingen op de bodem van de oceaan geven wel aan hoe belangrijk het is dat er meer onderzoek naar onze oceanen wordt gedaan. De oceaanbodem is nog tamelijk onontgonnen terrein; hoewel de oceaan zo’n 70 procent van het aardoppervlak bestrijkt, is slechts 20 procent van de wereldwijde zeebodem tot op heden in kaart gebracht. En ook de organismen die op de bodem en in de (dieper gelegen) wateren leven, hebben nog behoorlijk wat geheimen voor ons.
Langste bergketen Dat geldt zeker ook voor het gebied waar de beelden van de blauwe smurrie en mysterieuze gaten zijn gemaakt; de Mid-Atlantische Rug is met een lengte van 16.000 kilometer de langste bergketen op aarde, maar deze onder water gelegen berg en omgeving zijn nog nauwelijks bestudeerd. Wetenschappers probeerden daar recent daar tijdens een serie expedities – die samen aangeduid worden als ‘Voyage to the Ridge 2022‘ verandering in te brengen. Vanaf het onderzoeksschip Okeanos Explorer werd de Mid-Atlantische Rug en omgeving met sonarapparatuur in kaart gebracht, terwijl onderwaterrobots een inkijkje gaven in wat er allemaal in het gebied leeft. Want pas als we dat weten, kunnen we de ecosystemen gaan monitoren en eventueel ingrijpen als een ecosysteem – bijvoorbeeld door inmenging van mensen – in de knel dreigt te komen.
Eerder deze maand kwam de laatste van de serie expedities naar de Mid-Atlantische Rug ten einde. De komende tijd zal de sonardata gebruikt worden om de – nog altijd flinke – gaten in onze kaarten van de wereldwijde zeebodem te helpen opvullen. De onderzoekers leveren zo een bijdrage aan Seabed 2030: een project dat erop gericht is om de complete zeebodem tegen 2030 in kaart te hebben gebracht. Daarnaast zullen ook de door onderwaterrobots gemaakte beelden ongetwijfeld verder worden uitgeplozen. Of het tot identificatie van de nu nog mysterieuze blauwe smurrie zal leiden, is afwachten. Vaststaat dat de data leidend zal zijn voor het plannen van nieuwe expedities naar de bodem van de oceaan. Want wat alle vergaarde gegevens vooral laten zien, is dat er nog heel veel is wat we niet weten of in ieder geval slecht begrijpen.
Archaeologists sυrveyiпg the world’s oldest sυbmerged towп have foυпd ceramics datiпg back to the Fiпal Neolithic. Their discovery sυggests that Pavlopetri, off the soυtherп Lacoпia coast of Greece, was occυpied some 5,000 years ago — at least 1,200 years earlier thaп origiпally thoυght.
These remarkable fiпdiпgs have beeп made pυblic by the Greek goverпmeпt after the start of a five-year collaborative project iпvolviпg the Ephorate of Uпderwater Aпtiqυities of the Helleпic Miпistry of Cυltυre aпd The Uпiversity of Nottiпgham.
As a Myceпaeaп towп, the site offers poteпtial пew iпsights iпto the workiпgs of Myceпaeaп society. Pavlopetri has added importaпce as it was a maritime settlemeпt from which the iпhabitaпts coordiпated local aпd loпg-distaпce trade.
The Pavlopetri Uпderwater Archaeology Project aims to establish exactly wheп the site was occυpied, what it was υsed for aпd throυgh a systematic stυdy of the geomorphology of the area, how the towп became sυbmerged.
This sυmmer the team carried oυt a detailed digital υпderwater sυrvey aпd stυdy of the strυctυral remaiпs, which υпtil this year were thoυght to beloпg to the Myceпaeaп period — aroυпd 1600 to 1000 BC.
The sυrvey sυrpassed all their expectatioпs. Their iпvestigatioпs revealed aпother 150 sqυare metres of пew bυildiпgs as well as ceramics that sυggest the site was occυpied throυghoυt the Broпze Age — from at least 2800 BC to 1100 BC.
The work is beiпg carried oυt by a mυltidiscipliпary team led by Mr Elias Spoпdylis, Ephorate of Uпderwater Aпtiqυities of the Helleпic Miпistry of Cυltυre iп Greece aпd Dr Joп Heпdersoп, aп υпderwater archaeologist from the Departmeпt of Archaeology at The Uпiversity of Nottiпgham.
Dr Joп Heпdersoп said: “This site is υпiqυe iп that we have almost the complete towп plaп, the maiп streets aпd domestic bυildiпgs, coυrtyards, rock-cυt tombs aпd what appear to be religioυs bυildiпgs, clearly visible oп the seabed. Eqυally, as a harboυr settlemeпt, the stυdy of the archaeological material we have recovered will be extremely importaпt iп terms of revealiпg how maritime trade was coпdυcted aпd maпaged iп the Broпze Age.”
Possibly oпe of the most importaпt discoveries has beeп the ideпtificatioп of what coυld be a megaroп — a large rectaпgυlar great hall — from the Early Broпze Age period. They have also foυпd over 150 metres of пew bυildiпgs iпclυdiпg what coυld be the first example of a pillar crypt ever discovered oп the Greek maiпlaпd. Two пew stoпe-bυilt cist graves were also discovered aloпgside what appears to be a Middle Broпze Age pithos bυrial.
Mr Spoпdylis said: “It is a rare fiпd aпd it is sigпificaпt becaυse as a sυbmerged site it was пever re-occυpied aпd therefore represeпts a frozeп momeпt of the past.”
The Archaeological coordiпator Dr Chrysaпthi Galloυ a postdoctoral research fellow at The Uпiversity of Nottiпgham is aп expert iп Aegeaп Prehistory aпd the archaeology of Lacoпia.
Dr Galloυ said: “The пew ceramic fiпds form a complete aпd exceptioпal corpυs of pottery coveriпg all sυb-phases from the Fiпal Neolithic period (mid 4th milleппiυm BC) to the eпd of the Late Broпze Age (1100 BC).
Iп additioп, the iпterest from the local commυпity iп Lacoпia has beeп faпtastic.
The iпvestigatioп at Pavlopetri offers a great opportυпity for them to be actively iпvolved iп the preservatioп aпd maпagemeпt of the site, aпd sυbseqυeпtly for the cυltυral aпd toυristic developmeпt of the wider regioп.”
The team was joiпed by Dr Nicholas Flemmiпg, a mariпe geo-archaeologist from the Iпstitυte of Oceaпography at the Uпiversity of Soυthamptoп, who discovered the site iп 1967 aпd retυrпed the followiпg year with a team from Cambridge Uпiversity to carry oυt the first-ever sυrvey of the sυbmerged towп.
Usiпg jυst sпorkels aпd tape measυres they prodυced a detailed plaп of the prehistoric towп which coпsisted of at least 15 separate bυildiпgs, coυrtyards, streets, two-chamber tombs aпd at least 37 cist graves.
Despite the poteпtial iпterпatioпal importaпce of Pavlopetri, пo fυrther work was carried oυt at the site υпtil this year.
Throυgh a British School of Archaeology iп Atheпs permit, The Pavlopetri Uпderwater Archaeology Project begaп its five-year stυdy of the site with the aim of defiпiпg the history aпd developmeпt of Pavlopetri.
“Intriguing” Prehistoric Silver Jewelry in Omani Tomb Evidence of Regional Trade
Several important archaeological discoveries that shed light on ancient trade settlements in the Oman region have been unearthed by nearly a decade of excavations at a site from the early Bronze Age in Oman.
This list includes the remains of floorplans, warehouses, administrative buildings, ritual buildings, a tomb, industrial infrastructure for processing copper ore, and silver jewelry dated to the 3rd millennium BC. The jewelry includes parts of beautiful necklaces with beads, spacers, and silver rings from the Umm-al Nar culture’s zenith, including one particularly interesting ring that highlights the complexities of global trade in the ancient world.
International Team Uncovers Umm-al Nar Sites
The joint American and Omani mission was recently announced on the sidelines of the International Conference on Archaeology and Arts in South Asia, in Barcelona, Spain. According to a press release by Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, the team was headed by Prof. Dr. Nasser Al-Jahuri and Dr. Khaled Douglas from the Department of Archaeology at Sultan Qaboos University. They were assisted by Professor Kimberly Williams from Temple University Philadelphia, USA, who excavated the especially interesting tomb.
Explaining the importance of the site, Professor Nasser al-Jahuri, who discovered the site, said, “The archaeological site of Dahwa is considered among the important early Bronze Age sites in the Al-Batinah Plain due to the nature and quantity of archaeological finds that were uncovered during the various seasons of survey and excavation, which started in 2013 and continued until 2021. In 2013, the department began its field work by conducting a comprehensive archaeological survey in the Dahwa region, where five distinct archaeological sites were discovered that include ancient settlements dating back to the so-called Umm al-Nar culture (2600-2000 BC)".
The site, titled Dahwa 7, also included a mass grave , which ended up being the only grave found at the site. The grave yielded a large number of local and imported pottery items, among other important items.
A Prehistoric Silver Ring Illuminating Ancient Trade Networks
The fascinating tomb includes skeletal remains, as well as imported and local pottery and jewelry, including a distinctive seal on a silver ring belonging to the Harappan civilization. The seal depicted a bison from the Indus Valley, which lay a few hundred kilometers away in what constitutes modern-day India and Pakistan, Canada Today reported.
According to Dr. Dennis Frienz, an Italian expert on ancient trade routes between the Indus Valley and Oman, and a collaborator with the Omani Ministry of Heritage and Tourism: “The discovery of a silver ring in a tomb in North Al Batinah is likely to have been made in Mesopotamia (Iraq) using Anatolian silver (Turkey) for an individual associated with foreign trade with the Indus civilization (Pakistan and Western India) shows the great development of foreign trade, interaction and trade and cultural relations in prehistoric Eurasia, which can certainly be considered a prototype of modern global exchanges.”
What is most fascinating was the extent of the globalization the ring demonstrates. This provides additional evidence for the diversity and interconnectedness of ancient civilizations, considering that similar rings were found in Iran, Mesopotamia, and Bahrain as well. Moreover, those similar rings have been dated to later periods according to Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, professor of anthropology and archaeology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
The trade links are also gleaned from the quality of the seal’s decorative pattern and its distinctive shape, which are quintessentially Harappan. Another peculiarity is the fact that previously found seals were on smooth stone, but this is the first time that a bison image has been found on a metal ring, reported The Oman Observer . In 2020, bison stamp seals of local softstone were found at Salut and Al-Moyassar in Oman.
The bison image on this prehistoric silver ring found in Oman was typical of Harappan culture, indicating ancient global trade networks.
This suggests that the people of the Umm al-Narr culture were more intelligent and technologically advanced than previously thought. “… they introduced at a very early stage, administrative solutions that allowed economic growth in the later millennia,” he concluded.
Top image: The mass grave in Dahwa, Oman, where prehistoric silver jewelry was unearthed, along with pottery, stone containers, and personal ornaments.
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In a new documentary, pilots reveal chilling details about the alleged sightings of UFOs
Sergeant Sérgio Mota da Silva
The latest film based on the Night of the UFOs follows a Brazilian fighter pilot who came across a UFO in 1986. In the audio clip, the pilot talks about his frightening encounter with the object.
On May 19, 1986, various people reported seeing over 20 unidentified objects flying across Brazil. These sightings were reported in different areas such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Minas Gerais.
One night in 1986 UFOs swarmed over Brazil
The Brazilian Air Force immediately launched fighter jets to intercept the objects. However, the pilots were reportedly left disoriented by the objects and did not have a clear explanation as to why they saw them. According to reports, five of the country’s fighter pilots saw up to 21 objects disappear.
A documentary about the incident features a radio message that one of the pilots sent to the control tower.
The audio of the incident was played in the film. It captured the moment the pilot first encountered the object. In a chilling audio, he can be heard saying, “It’s not an airplane, what is it?”
Brazilian photographer Adenir Britto was able to capture the various objects in the sky during the incident.
In a radio message, the fighter pilot noted that there were three objects in the sky. He then asked the control tower to identify the objects. The pilot was confused by the objects and noted that one of them flew in front of Mike-Bravo-Zulu, a radio station. The short clip, which was released by James Fox, featured the pilot’s voice.
The Night of the UFOs was not the first time that a documentary explored the subject. The pilots noted that the objects moved at speeds of up to 11,500 mph. They did not appear on radars.
Local newspaper report of the incident, 1986
The Night of the UFOs documentary was significant as it highlighted the seriousness of the issue, as well as the number of officials around the world who are investigating the possibility of UFOs. In May, the US held a public hearing regarding the issue.
On June 24, the Senate of Brazil held a special session in observance of the 75th anniversary of the UFO Day. It was attended by various UFO enthusiasts and experts.
The number of reported sightings of UFOs has significantly increased worldwide. In just over a year, the number of incidents reported in the US increased from 143 to 400. Reports of these sightings have also increased in other countries such as China and Russia.
Picture from 19th May 1986, Brazil
On the night of the incident, a sergeant working at an airport in Brazil said he saw a light in the sky. He then alerted the control tower. This event, which started the Night of the UFOs, happened at around 8 pm.
Thrilled by the strange activity, Mota approached the control tower of the airport in Brazil’s Sao Paulo to see if an aircraft was flying toward his facility. The control tower did not respond to his query, and the object disappeared.
After a while, the object reappeared. According to Mota, he was able to see it through binoculars, and he found it strange and multi-colored. In an interview with the BBC, he said that he didn’t know if the objects were trying to interact with him.
Three fighter jets were immediately launched. One of these was a Mirage F-103 aircraft piloted by Captain Armindo Sousa Viriato. The pilot noted that as he was about to approach the object, it accelerated to speeds of over 11,500 mph.
After the Night of the UFOs incident, many pilots admitted that they were not aware of what they were witnessing. They were then assigned to identify the objects.
Unfortunately, they were not able to identify the objects due to their fast moving nature. According to a report by the Sun, a pilot from Brazil’s air force said that he was only able to see the objects through visual contact.
In May, Brigadier-General Octavio Moreira Lima, the Minister of Aeronautics, held a press conference to explain the incident. He said that the five fighter jets that were deployed chased over 21 unidentified objects. However, he refused to provide additional details about the nature of the objects or the pilots involved.
Due to the number of people who reported witnessing the incident, the Night of the UFOs incident has been regarded as the most popular talking point regarding the sightings of UFOs in Brazil.
The interest in UFOs grew following the US Congressional hearing on the subject in May. Governments from China and Russia also announced their investigations into the matter. This marked the first time in over 50 years that the US Congress held a hearing on the subject of UFOs.
This Brazilian farmer “may be first in world to be killed by UFO”
Local newspaper report about this strange event
According to this book (Amazon link), a farmer may have been the first person in the world killed by a UFO.
Television reproduction of the incident (left)
Luis Barroso Fernandes, a Brazilian, died mysteriously after claiming that he was attacked by small extraterrestrials that came out of a “strange disc”.
Philip Mantle, a British investigator, believes that the incident that led to the death of Luis Barroso Fernandes could be the first case of a UFO killing a person.
According to the book, Luis said he heard a buzzing sound and spotted an unidentified object in the sky.
He claimed that the object was about 30 meters from him when it hit the ground. He then said that two small alien creatures came from it.
Luis Barroso Fernandes
He said that the creatures attacked him and his donkey, causing them to become paralyzed. He woke up to find that he was several meters away from the object. He also had burn marks on his face.
After finding the farmer, a cowboy took him to his wife, who then called the doctors. They reportedly could not diagnose his strange condition.
After hearing the farmer’s story, Dr. Antnio Moreira Magalhes, a psychiatrist, concluded that the incident was very serious. Although he didn’t believe in flying saucers at that time, he admitted that something happened to the farmer.
Following the incident in 1973, the doctor ordered a tranquilizer and an anti-allergy drug for the farmer.
Luis Barroso Fernandez
Luis Barroso Fernandes
Despite the treatment, Fernandes still felt ill. His body continued to hurt. His left side of his body was still red, and burning eyes were still visible.
The book also stated that after the incident, his hair started to fall grey and he had memory lapses. Although his friends and family claimed that he was in good health before the alleged incident, his health started to deteriorate.
His relatives took him to a psychiatric hospital. According to the book, 16 doctors examined him, but none of them could diagnose his condition.
After learning about the incident, Dr. Magalhes carried out his own investigation and diagnosed Fernandes’ worsening mental condition.
Fernandes died in 1993. Before his death, he could barely utter the words “Mom,” “give,” and “fear.” A couple of students, a radio broadcaster, and military personnel also reported seeing a UFO over the city that same day.
Philip Mantle, a former official of the UFO Research Association, has written a book about the incident.
According to him, many people claimed to have been in direct contact with the extraterrestrial creatures. Some also stated that the objects hurt them.
Although the book states that there were minor injuries on Fernandes’ body, he most likely became the first person to die after being attacked by a UFO.
Author of the book Thiago Ticchetti stated that contact with extraterrestrials is rare. He noted that when objects shoot a beam of light at an individual, it is extremely rare for them to hit their face.
In addition, Brazil has a huge amount of uranium that it can sell to Iran for its nuclear program. This could be the reason why there’s a lot of UFO and alien activity in the country.
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